Fight for the Future
by tag58
Summary: Continuing the story of my Shepard and Kaidan from Reflections, with new original story idea and character thrown in. Shenko all the way, rated M for language, violence, adult content, oh my!
1. Note

**Author's Note (and Apology)**

Dear friends and followers,

I am sincerely sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to my beloved Shenko fics... I have a trillion excuses, none of them great, so I won't bore you with the details. I will just say I am back, in a better place with more time to devote to my lovelies, and lots of good ideas of where to go with them.

I know I left us in a crucial spot in Twist the Knife, and I will be returning to that soon, but in the meantime, I had a half-complete sequel to Reflections started when I took my long sojourn from writing, and it has drawn me back in... Plus, I'd like to get it out there before ME4 makes it completely irrelevant/totally AU. The first half of the fic is written, the rest of it is completely outlined, and I'm writing on a nearly daily basis again, so I promise to not leave you hanging here! Still, if you prefer to wait until its complete, I do understand :-)

To anyone new to my fics, or who skimmed the last two paragraphs, let me introduce to this new story. It's called Fight for the Future and it is as I said a sequel to my first ever fanfic, Reflections. If you haven't read Reflections, or it has been a long time, don't feel like you need to leave and do that now! I'll summarize here to get you up to speed... If you're a completionist like me and a summary won't do it for you, then enjoy and hurry back (and you can skip the following.)

Reflections is my "what happens after the end of ME3 - even with the extended cut" story. It is Shenko (as always) with a paragon femshep (named Katriona - Kat for short) and the destroy/extended cut/full war assets/full paragon ending - so TIM kills himself, breath at the end, Kaidan doesn't hang the plaque on the memorial wall, etc. With me so far? Good. So, Reflections begins with finding Shepard under the wreckage and getting her to the hospital in London, while Kaidan and crew on the Normandy begin the slow process of getting back to Earth the non-mass relay way. The fic is, as the title indicates, a number of short reflections/memories of Shenko's relationship - fleshing out the cannon story and never contradicting it unless I screwed up and didn't notice - as well as dealing with the aftermath of the Crucible and War with the entire crew while Shepard goes through the grueling process of recovering from life-threatening injuries (with a VERY protective Kaidan hovering at her side.) At the end of Reflections, our happy couple is married, living in Rio and Kaidan has taken up his work training biotics there, while Kat is now a Captain, and an instructor in the N7 program. Oh, and they're expecting a little Alenko! That should bring you up to speed for this fic, and I think I've done a decent job of filling in the blanks from there.

This is my first attempt at going completely off the ME rails with a mostly original story, within the canon ME universe. I sincerely try to do heavy amounts of research as I write and I have played the trilogy extensively. Still, if you see any glaring errors, please feel free to drop me a line and let me know! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it...

- Arin


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N - (and yes, I'll keep this brief since I opened with an entire chapter worth!) if you haven't read Reflections or the previous note, please stop now and go back! This fic is rated M for language and adult content (though this chapter is safe) so you've been warned! As always, all the credit for the lovely characters and ME universe I love to play in and write about goes to the wonderful folks at Bioware and I take no credit for them, nor will I expect to earn anything other than feedback from my efforts here! That being said, if you enjoy and want to read more, the review button feeds my cravings (and yours!)_

* * *

><p>Kaidan opened his eyes to see his wife's green eyes smiling down at him. Kat's chin was propped on the palm she had laid on his chest and she was half slouched over him, grinning and apparently watching him sleep. It was a rare and welcome look for her first thing in the morning recently, and he found her good mood infectious. He smiled back, even as she tilted her head up to kiss him good morning. When she resumed her previous position without comment, he cocked a brow at her.<p>

"Not that I'm complaining, but what's put you in this great mood?" he asked.

She arched a brow back at him and leaned up for another kiss. She pulled back enough to say against his lips, "Other than my excellent dessert?" before she broke off and kissed him again.

Kaidan smiled into the kiss, remembering the night before. Her 'revenge' for his seduction before they had gotten to dessert had been to bring out the bottle of chocolate syrup and make _him_ dessert.

"Plus, there's the fact that this is the first morning that _your_ son or daughter hasn't decided to make me completely sick," she told him with a huge grin.

Kaidan smiled again and gathered Kat into his arms and tucked her against his side so he could reach down between them and put one hand on the gentle swell of her abdomen. Even at four months along, Kat's pregnancy was nearly undetectable – except for the small bump he now cradled under his protective palm and the constant morning sickness that had plagued her from nearly the start. Even as he let his hand smooth over her stomach, expressing his love to both his wife and the child she carried, he laughed mentally at her habit of calling the baby 'his son or daughter' anytime it made its mother unhappy. Since she was the one enduring the symptoms of pregnancy, he cut her slack and took the hit gracefully.

He brought his hand up to stroke her hair, thinking what a miracle it was to have her here - whole and alive and completely recovered - after the nightmare they had endured the nearly a year and a half ago now. Trying to add the joy of impending fatherhood to that made him think his heart wasn't big enough to hold all the emotion. He kissed the top of her head.

"Maybe the baby will give you an easier time from here on out," he told her in response to her news.

"Hmmm, it's still our kid," Kat replied, but her voice was still cheery.

Kaidan chuckled. "True enough," he replied before his mind turned to more banal matters. "Busy day today?" he asked her.

Shepard had reluctantly accepted the Alliance's restrictions – no combat, no spaceflight until after she was off maternity leave – but she continued to work as an instructor in the N program. These days, she spent a great deal of time either in the classroom or on the firing range with the N1s. She wasn't thrilled, but she was still working, and Kaidan knew she secretly loved teaching.

"New group incoming," she answered him with a yawn and stretch. She rolled back onto his chest and kissed him again. "But I don't have to be in class for another hour."

"Really?" he drawled and drew her back for another kiss. He could think of a few ways to pass the time and he figured he could show her a few.

**###**

Four hours later, Kaidan stormed into the base hospital, frantic to find someone to give him information. He had received a page on his omni-tool in the middle of his advanced biotics field test and the terse words _'Captain Alenko injured. Taken to base hospital. Condition unknown.'_ had sent him rushing here without even an explanation to his students. He ran up to the first floor information kiosk and right into a wall of muscle. Large arms came up to brace both of his and steady him. Kaidan looked into the calm, steady gaze of James Vega in surprise.

"James, why are you here?" he asked, panic rising again.

"Calm down, Major," James replied and let go of Kaidan's arms. He motioned to a nearby elevator and began to walk in that direction as Kaidan fell into step beside him. "I came down here to wait for you."

"Kat?" Kaidan asked around the lump rising in his throat. He was too afraid to add 'and the baby.'

"Lola's fine - the baby too," James answered both Kaidan's questions though he had only voiced one.

Kaidan found he could breathe again and took a deep one to steady himself. He skipped over the many questions that raced through his brain and cut to the one that mattered most to him, "What happened?"

The elevator arrived with a ping and they stepped inside. James selected a floor from the control panel and turned to Kaidan as the doors closed behind them. "She was on the firing range with a new squad of N1 candidates, and was hit by a stray bullet."

The panic rose again, but Kaidan forced it down. James wouldn't have lied. And James had said they were ok, but part of Kaidan wouldn't believe it until he saw Kat for himself.

"One of the newbies?" Kaidan guessed.

"Unknown," his friend replied as the doors of the elevator swooshed open and deposited them on a busy hospital ward.

"Ok, James, what aren't you telling me? And why are you even here?" Kaidan asked in confusion.

The last they had heard from Vega, he had been assigned to Alliance HQ in Vancouver. After the reconstruction, James had decided to transfer to the military police. Sure, he was an N7, but there weren't many enemies to fight, and with the relays still in an only semi-functional state, the Alliance concentrated their efforts primarily on Earth. James had laughed when he told them that guarding Shepard during those six months of confinement had given him a taste for police work, and he had proved that he had an affinity for it over the past ten months.

"Let me take you to see Lola and I'll answer your questions later," Vega replied.

Since that fit Kaidan's priorities fairly well, he didn't argue.

She looked pale and somehow tiny, Kaidan thought, as he stood in the door of her room several minutes later watching her sleep. His mind kept trying to torture him with memories of another time, another hospital room, and he found he couldn't quite bring himself to walk over to her bed yet. He had spoken to her doctor before coming to see her, and the man had assured Kaidan that she would recover fully and no harm had been done to the child. The doctor had gone on to say that although he didn't consider her in any danger, they would be keeping her overnight for observation and to give her obstetrician a chance to ok her release as well.

She had been shot in the shoulder – a through and through - mere inches away from a fatal wound. Logically, Kaidan knew the modified armor she wore during her pregnancy would have prevented an injury that serious. It was only because of her changing shape that she couldn't wear the standard Alliance chest plate – they just didn't make a maternity version of those – and instead had to settle for a vest similar to old-fashioned Kevlar. The downside was it left portions of her shoulders and her entire arms uncovered. Since her work on the range was hardly considered dangerous, the Alliance considered it a fair compromise. It was something that Kaidan planned to address with the Alliance quartermaster on base – once he had his wife safely back home.

"Are you just going to stand there looking at me?" a very much awake Kat grumbled from the bed.

He moved quickly to her side and sat on the edge of the bed. He took her hand and kissed it – and again had to shove aside painful memories of doing this once before – then leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Sorry, I thought you were sleeping."

"Not anymore," she replied, clutching his hand a little hard. "Kaidan… the baby?"

"Everything's fine," he reassured her, and placed a hand over the bump in emphasis. "Doctor Kramer will be in tomorrow just to make sure, but they said there are no problems."

She breathed a sigh of relief then winced as her injured shoulder twinged. She shifted a little trying to reposition the sling that held her left arm immobile and he reached over and assisted her. When she settled again, she paled as she realized the implication of what he'd said.

"Kaidan, I'm not staying here," she pleaded, "they can't keep me." Both panic and tears were welling.

"Ssshh," he soothed, brushing her hair back from her face, and then a tear off her cheek. "It's only for one night." He fully understood the cause of her panic – even shared some of it himself. It hadn't been that long ago that she was confined to a hospital fighting for her life.

She fought back tears and panic, reminding herself that this was not like the last time, and that she had more than herself to worry about now. It took long moments, and she wasn't thrilled about it, but she finally relaxed and sighed – despite the pain. Still, she clung to his hand and couldn't prevent herself from asking in a voice that didn't even sound like hers, "You'll stay with me?"

Kaidan kissed her forehead again and then he smiled at her. "Where else would I go?" he asked.

**###**

They released her the next afternoon with a clean bill of health. They cautioned Kaidan that she would be sore for several days and her arm would need to stay immobilized. Since he didn't plan to let her so much as walk to the bathroom alone, he wasn't worried about following doctor's instructions.

When he landed the aircar in the parking slot in front of their small house on base, Kaidan noted an MP vehicle parked nearby. He exited the car and went around to help Shepard out, and wasn't surprised to see James Vega approach. He had been conspicuously absent while Kat was in the hospital, and if Kaidan didn't know him better, he'd say James was ducking his questions.

"Major, Lola," James greeted them with a cheery grin. He was in full uniform, but they were dressed casually so he didn't salute.

"James," Shepard greeted him. She motioned him over for an awkward one-armed hug, and then she stepped back and questioned, "What are you doing in Rio?"

"I was coming to see you," James told her, "I just got on base when I heard that you decided to use yourself as a target for the _novatos._"

She laughed a little and replied, "It wasn't the plan - just happened that way." She didn't see the tightening of James' face, but Kaidan didn't miss it.

"Let's go inside where it's more comfortable, and we can catch up," he suggested. He took Kat's elbow to escort her in the door and received a sharp jab to the ribs for the effort. He grinned. Despite her displeasure at his hovering, her stubbornness was the best sign to him that she would be fine.

They went inside and seated themselves in the small living room. After a few pleasantries, Kat finally leaned forward and cut to the chase. "Ok, James, spill. Why aren't you in Vancouver?"

"I've been assigned to investigate a series of bizarre crimes," James began as way of explanation. "Four people have been murdered – not just here on Earth, but throughout the galaxy. The first was an agent for Noveria Internal Affairs – Gianna Parasini. Several weeks later, a salarian named Maelon was found dead. Then shortly after came an asari named Shiala, and finally a turian general named Oraka. It took the fourth one for the Alliance to notice the pattern and get involved."

It hadn't taken Kat much more than two, but then she knew and remembered these people better than any Alliance intel agent was likely to. To her, the pattern was clear. "Me," she said to James.

He nodded to confirm her guess. Kaidan also followed the clear pattern – he either knew these people directly or of them from his time on the Normandy. But he asked the question that remained, "Who is killing people connected to Shepard? And why?"

"That's what the Alliance sent me here to ask the two of you," James replied.


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N - ok it was very mean ending the first chapter that way, and since I hate cliffhangers, too, I'm not making you wait! This chapter includes our first steamy Shenko section (which I'll cleverly italicize for those of you who prefer to avoid such things) and should be considered **rated M, NSFW**. As always, all credit goes to Bioware, I just play with their characters and put them back in (mostly) the same shape! Reviews are food to a fanfic writer, please feed me!_

* * *

><p>"To ask us?" Kaidan echoed in confusion. "Why would we know?"<p>

"It's not that the Alliance believes you know who killed them," James clarified. "In fact, the killers have all been identified. We just want your input on the crimes, and what connection these people may have had... other than Lola."

"Killers?" Kat asked. "There's more than one?"

"James, why don't you start from the beginning and tell us everything," Kaidan suggested. "I feel like we're jumping into a vid halfway through."

"Yeah, good idea, Major," James replied with an easy grin. "Although it doesn't get much less confusing when you know it all..." he warned.

As he began to relate the few details of the 'case' that the Alliance had pieced together thus far, Kaidan met Kat's eyes and saw the pride and respect in them. This James Vega was a different person than the one who had once challenged her and acted like a cross between an annoying younger brother and hotheaded jarhead. This Vega had a poise and maturity about him and it served to enhance the spark of intelligence that had previously been hidden behind posturing and bluster. All of them had changed during the war and the year since, but perhaps it showed the most in Vega.

"Parasini was found dead in her office at Noveria Internal Affairs by the aide who typically was the first person at work each day. There was no sign of forced entry, and the aide said the office had not been locked. That was a breach of protocol, so she carefully searched each of the inner offices before she discovered Parasini's body, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. Noveria security responded and locked down the facility, and they determined that the fatal wound was not self-inflicted, nor was there any weapon found on the scene." James referred to the datapad in his hands and continued to detail his report, "After a thorough search, the killer – a salarian attache to one of the high tech companies housed on Noveria – was found dead in his own office. He also was killed by a single gunshot wound, but this one was ruled suicide."

"So he kills Gianna, then goes back to his office and kills himself?" Kat summarized.

"Looks like it," James confirmed. "The same weapon was used in both shootings, and forensics showed that he was the only one to fire it. There was also security footage of him leaving Internal Affairs, still holding the weapon, and arriving back in his own office. Video surveillance that the company turned over revealed he shot himself within minutes of entering the office. The video surveillance for the time leading up to the incident and in the Internal Affairs office was corrupted. It's believed it was a high level hack, possibly from off-planet."

"They hacked the footage before and during the murder but left the time after?" Kaidan asked suspiciously.

"Exactly," James said with a nod. "It's like they didn't care if we saw what happened after, or-"

"They wanted us to find him," Kat interrupted with the conclusion they had all reached. "Was Gianna investigating his company, or him?" she asked.

"Not that we can see, and her logs weren't touched by the hack – only the security vid," James answered with a shrug. "Unless it was something totally off the record or new, there wasn't an active investigation."

"Unless that's why she was meeting him there," Kat added. "Because she thought he was bringing something to her..."

"It would explain the lack of forced entry, and why she was in the office so early," James agreed. "Logs show she entered approximately three hours before the aide, and the vids show the salarian exiting Internal Affairs only fifteen minutes later. Whatever the story, nothing has turned up in the two months since the crime. And not even the geeks in Alliance tech have been able to trace the hack."

"So its a good murder mystery," Kaidan mused, "But nothing beyond that on its own."

"True, and that's why it alone didn't raise any alarms," James conceded. "Maleon's murder went down under similar circumstances. He was in his lab at a secret STG research facility orbiting the planet..." again James checked his datapad, "Dragel in the Pranas System of the Annos Basin Cluster. He was killed by a guard, who immediately took his own life. Both bodies were discovered by security patrols."

"That facility is so secret, it doesn't even appear on Alliance star maps," Kat mused.

"And we would only know about it from Liara's clever hacking when you were on Sur'Kesh," James added. "Just like Parasini, there are no security vids showing the incident, though it took quite some time for STG to admit it. They were also wiped by an outside hack."

"So the link is the hack so far?" Kaidan asked in confusion.

"That and the fact that Lola knew them both," James confirmed.

"You said Shiala was next?" Kat prompted. She was filing the information away and thinking about what it could mean, but she wanted the full story before she tried to draw any conclusions.

"Yes, and that one had witnesses," James said as he turned to her. "Shiala was on the Citadel, arguing for more aid for the colonists on Feros. She has been extremely active in getting them back on their feet, and they've done well with her help, but they're rebuilding. Shiala had just left a meeting with an asari diplomat and was on one of the walkways on the top of the Presidium when she was tackled by a human C-Sec officer and wrestled over the railing. They both went over and fell to their deaths. Witnesses say there were no words exchanged, and the officer didn't try to break his fall."

"C-Sec killed her?" Kat echoed in shock.

"A C-Sec officer, yes," James clarified. "And one who, again, had no prior connection to Shiala – that we've been able to find."

"And security footage?" Kaidan asked.

"Hacked again, though they couldn't do anything about the eye witness accounts," James told them. "The last murder was General Septimus Oraka, retired turian military," James read from his datapad again. "He was in his home on Palaven, where he had served during the war and settled since. His throat was slit while he was sleeping in his own bed – by his mistress who then used the same blade to kill herself. There were no security vids to hack since it was a private residence, but all reports indicate that the couple was happy and very much in love. And there was no evidence of any kind to show anything different. Taken alone, it might just have been tragic..."

"Put together with the others, its a clear pattern," Kaidan finished the thought.

"I don't understand," Kat said after a pause. She sighed and went on, "I knew all of them, true, but that's where the similarities end. Different times, different circumstances... They weren't even all allies," she summarized, thinking that Maelon had been far from that, despite the good they had managed to salvage from his research.

"That's not all," James said before he paused and seemed to think. Kat and Kaidan turned to him with matching glares. "_Dios_, you two can be scary when you do that," James said with a laugh.

"James..." Kat growled a warning.

"Ok, ok..." James raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. "The Alliance sent me here, rather than summoning you or just setting up a holo-conference because one of our techs in coms found some electronic traces of copying in some old archives. Your old mission reports to be specific."

"Which is likely how whoever is behind this found their targets," Kat guessed. "But what aren't you telling us?"

"The Alliance thinks you could be in danger," James admitted with a sigh. "And the fact that security vids from the range when you were shot yesterday were hacked and corrupted makes me think they're right."

"Whoever is behind this tried to kill her?" Kaidan growled. He sat forward threateningly, looking as if he were ready to attack her unknown assailant at any moment. His posture was tense and his knuckles were white with the effort of keeping his temper under control.

"Unlikely, Major," James said reassuringly. "Even with the modified armor, she was safe from a fatal shot. And no one has died."

"_She_ is sitting right here, gentlemen," Kat added with a growl of her own. She glared at Kaidan until he relaxed or at least, sat back and took a deep breath. "Nothing happened," she reminded him softly, communicating with her eyes that she needed him calm and focused, not going 'caveman' on her. He finally gave her a slight nod though he remained quiet and kept his eyes locked on her. She turned back to James.

"Your point was that whoever shot me it wasn't an accident, but they're still alive?" Kat asked for clarification.

"Yes," James said simply. "Though with the vids out, and no one seeing anything – or admitting to it anyway – we have no way to say who it was."

"My guess is that person can tell us more about what's going on than Kaidan or I can," Kat pointed out.

"Asking you guys for clues on the investigation was always a long shot," James admitted with a shrug. "I'm here to make sure that nothing happens to you," at Kaidan's discreet cough, he amended, "nothing else, that is."

"So while you get to stand guard for me for the second time in your illustrious career," Kat began with a voice laced with sarcasm, "Do you plan on getting any police work done?"

"I figure between the Major and me we can keep you safe and sniff around at the same time," James replied. His grin was still in place and showed that he had taken no offense at her comment.

"And if you think I'm going to sit back and be guarded while the two of you sniff around," Kat told him and this time her voice was dangerously low, "Then you don't know me at all."

She glared at the both of them for long seconds to make her point. She may be Captain Kat Alenko now, but underneath all of that, she was Commander fucking Shepard, and no one was keeping her out of this investigation.

"Where do we start?" she asked James and raised a hand and held it up to stall the objection she knew Kaidan was ready to give. 'We'll talk later' she communicated to her husband with a look.

"I've gathered the records on all your incoming N candidates and have interviews lined up starting in the morning," James answered. "I'm sure you'll be perfectly safe sitting in the interview room on base," he added, trying to appease them both.

Kat immediately jumped to agree and they spent the remainder of the visit making arrangements for James to pick her up in the morning before he made excuses and left to return to his temporary housing. Kaidan hadn't spoken the rest of the time James was there.

He was still silent as he watched her return from seeing James out the door and seat herself in the chair across from him. She leaned as far forward as her expanding girth and sore shoulder would allow and met his eyes.

"Ok, Kaidan, let's hear it," she prompted.

"I don't like this," he replied after a moment. "I don't like you being in danger again, and I don't like knowing our baby will be too." He sighed and leaned forward as well, and his eyes showed resignation. "But I know you well enough to know that you're not going to stay out of this. And I'm not sure I could ask you to." He smiled a bit and reminded her, "I once told you that it makes me crazy when you put yourself in danger."

"And you also said that was part of the reason you loved me," she completed the memory with a smile. "Kaidan, I know the stakes, and I will be careful."

"I know that," he affirmed quietly. He sighed again and admitted, "I don't like the whole situation, but having you involved makes sense. If anyone can figure this out, you can."

"Hey, we'll need you for more than your excellent coffee," she replied with a grin.

"Oh, I don't plan on staying out of it," Kaidan countered. "Just..."

"You're not going to try to stop me," Kat completed the thought. When he nodded, she stood and walked to him. She waited while he reclined in his chair enough for her to perch on his lap. Once they shifted to find a comfortable position for her shoulder, she sighed in contentment. "I love you," she told him and tilted her face up for a kiss.

"I love you, too," he responded before he brought his mouth to hers. When he pulled back a moment later, he placed a protective palm over their baby and added, "Both of you."

They sat there companionably, each lost in their own thoughts, for several long moments before they got up to make dinner together. Once they sat down to eat together, Kaidan turned their casual conversation back to the case. He knew it had been playing on her mind since James had left, and he hadn't been able to think of anything else either.

"I wonder what the person or persons behind this wants," he wondered rhetorically as he studied his steak rather than cutting it. He was all for red meat, but the whole topic ruined his appetite... rather an impressive feat considering his biotic metabolism.

"It's almost like they were trying to send a message to me," Kat theorized as she took a bite of her steak. She was both biotic and pregnant... nothing came between her and food.

"The whole thing seems rather elaborate for a message," he commented. "I mean, it's easy enough to reach you, we've been here in Rio for over a year."

"On an Alliance base that, while it may not be top secret, is high security," she pointed out. She gestured with her fork as she swallowed a bite of salad before she went on, "Maybe whoever is behind this couldn't get to me here."

"But they could get someone on base and manage to shoot you?" Kaidan replied with a sigh. "High security didn't make a difference then."

Kat tried to shrug and stopped the motion midway when her injured shoulder reminded her why that hadn't been a good idea. "Hopefully we'll find out tomorrow," she answered instead. She watched as Kaidan stood and began to clear their plates... his was barely finished and she frowned.

"You know, getting shot has one benefit..." she told him with a sly grin.

"What possible benefit can getting shot have?" he asked in exasperation from the kitchen.

"Two actually," Kat amended as she moved around him to the freezer and pulled out a container of coffee ice cream. She had given up caffeine at her doctor's recommendation, so the it had become her favorite flavor of ice cream.

"First, I don't have to do the dishes," she said as she searched a drawer for a spoon. "Second, I don't have to skip dessert tonight," she added as she scooped a large helping of the creamy delight out of the container and into her mouth. She noted Kaidan's eyes watched her lick the spoon clean and refilled it and offered it to him while he scraped the plates. She'd get calories into him – one way or another. He took the treat she offered and swallowed but his eyes stayed on her. Suddenly his mood was quite different than the quiet worry he'd shown since James had left.

"You can have your dessert... _first_," Kaidan told her with a look in his eyes that also told her quite clearly what he planned for 'second'.

She turned very slowly, put the container back in the freezer and set the spoon down in the sink. She walked into his arms and met his mouth in a kiss that managed to be searing though both their mouths were still frozen from the ice cream. They didn't break the kiss even when he lifted her and carried her off to their bedroom. She didn't mind waiting... They could eat later, after they burned off more calories.

**###**

_When Kat woke hours later it was to the dual but not entirely unpleasant sensation of cold and hot. She blinked sleepy eyes open and discovered the source of both... Kaidan had coated her nipple in the ice cream they had abandoned earlier and was sucking it off her. His mouth felt all the more hot because of the contrast in temperature to the ice cream and she gasped in her breath and brought her good arm up to cradle his head against her chest. He rolled his eyes up to meet hers and she gasped again when she saw the heat of his mouth reflected in his eyes. He licked her nipple clean then lifted his head to meet her mouth in a kiss that tasted of sweet coffee ice cream and the even more tantalizing flavor that was simply Kaidan beneath it. She returned the kiss with all the renewed passion he had awakened in her and moaned when he broke the contact long before she was ready._

_She watched with bated breath as he reached for the ice cream again and hissed in a breath when he tipped the carton directly over her and spilled a long line of the melted dessert between her breasts. He held her gaze while he used the flat of his tongue to clean up his mess. He moved his mouth to her other nipple and this time the cold and heat were both from him. Her hand clenched in involuntarily response in his hair and she had to close her eyes. The sensations were too strong and adding sight to them threatened to overwhelm her._

_She felt him shift against her again and nearly jumped off the mattress in surprise when she felt the cold hit her hot skin again, this time in a wide swath over the swell of her abdomen. She opened her eyes again and watched as he licked the ice cream from her skin, unable to resist the look of absolute bliss on his face that she knew wasn't due to the taste of the ice cream. She stroked her hands through his hair and remembered again how much she loved this man, in all of his moods. On the heels of that thought, she couldn't help but add she preferred this one to the worried stress he'd shown earlier. Obviously, he had come to terms with things or at least was willing to shove it aside in favor of taking his time with her now. She hadn't minded their quick heated rush of passion earlier – she had certainly enjoyed it as much as he – but it just hadn't been typical. Kaidan was usually unhurried and breathtakingly sensual in bed, though she knew their lovemaking earlier had been the tangible reassurance he had needed of her safety and hadn't begrudged him the atypically quick pace. Apparently, he had decided to make it up to her, in a big way, and she had no objections to this either._

_She took a deep breath and let it back out in a hitching sigh in an effort to release the tension he was building slowly, inexorably in her. She gave in to the sensual delight of feeling his mouth on her, tracing over the slight swell of the skin beneath it in movements so slow they could be called reverent. She knew that thoughts of her dominated his mind in moments like this, but that on a deeper, more primitive level he never forgot their child as well. Since she had told him about her pregnancy, there was even more gentleness, more worship in his touch, even in these most private times, and it made her heart swell with love for him even when it frustrated her. They both knew she wasn't fragile, she wouldn't break, but Kaidan wasn't a man who could ever set aside his protective instincts, and her pregnancy had heightened and reinforced them. She knew she sometimes drove him to his limits with the risks she took, and she promised herself not for the first time to stop and think about his needs before she charged into danger headlong._

_Kaidan must have sensed that her thoughts had wandered, because he shifted again. He reached for the carton of ice cream and scooped out a spoonful. He offered it to her as she had to him earlier and she took it with a smile. Before she could swallow, he brought his mouth to hers and they shared the treat together. The ice cream kiss could have been sweet or touching, but the feel of his hands sweeping her thighs apart and settling between them just where she needed his touch most kept the contact arousing and infinitely erotic. He kept a flat palm against her center, just resting there in teasing pressure while he reached for the ice cream again with his other hand. He tipped the carton and painted a long line of cream from the base of her throat down to her belly button. She held her breath in anticipation and released it in a slow hiss when she felt his tongue begin to follow the path he had drawn._

_He didn't linger this time, only spent enough time to lick her skin clean before he swept his head lower, while he kept his palm against her with just enough force that she couldn't ignore it, not enough to actually stimulate the parts that were veritably screaming for his attention. She squirmed a bit under his touch but he soothed her with whispers against the skin between her breasts. She sighed again, trying to relax under his touch and be patient. This was heading somewhere, and she knew she'd be happy when they got there. She just couldn't help wishing that it was sooner rather than later. She sucked in her breath when she felt his tongue dip into her bellybutton, licking at the pool of melted ice cream there. The feel of it was so distracting, she missed his shift this time and didn't realize what he intended until he removed his palm from her and held her eyes as he removed the hand he held against her and swept it through the ice cream, coating his fingers with it._

_She shook her head, sure that she couldn't endure it, but he ignored the objection and brought his hand back between her legs. When his ice creamed coated fingers parted her folds and traced over her, she gasped in a breath at the pleasure pain of that contrast on her sensitive flesh. When he moved his fingers from her and replaced them with his mouth a moment later, she forgot how to breathe entirely. His hot tongue chasing the icy cool from her swollen tissues was a pleasure that went beyond description or imagination. She lost herself to the feel of his mouth around her. He sucked her in and warmed her back again, then the pressure of him against her sent her temperature soaring to new levels. She felt her climax drawing close and reached for it, welcomed it. He brought her to just before her peak and then, suddenly, his mouth was gone. She opened her eyes to see what had interrupted him and her startled eyes widened as he very slowly drew his own fingers – the ones he had used to paint her with ice cream – into his mouth and sucked the dual flavor off of each. The look in his eyes was smoldering with passion and once his fingers were clean, he dipped his head again and took her back in his mouth. He was done teasing now, she could tell from the pace of his sucking and the feel of his tongue flicking against her and he pushed her into her orgasm in mere seconds._

_She threw her head back and arched into his continual caress as she felt the waves of pleasure sweep over her body. She moaned long and low, unable to restrain the sound from ripping free of her throat. She felt like she was soaring under his expert touch, and she felt the climax in every nerve. She barely drifted back to semi-awareness before she felt him slide deep into her in a sudden stroke so unexpected and quick it sent her soaring again. Her inner muscles clamped down hard on his invading hardness and he kept himself still and full inside her, riding out the orgasm passively, until she finally collapsed back against the pillow with a long sigh._

_Only then did he gather her limp legs around his waist and reposition himself over her. He brought his mouth down and took hers in a deep kiss while he began to move inside her in short thrusts that barely gave her any time to think or breathe between. She moaned again into his mouth and he swallowed the sound into their kiss then returned it as he changed his rhythm to long deep strokes. She was recovered enough now to join in their dance, and she picked up his pace easily, moving her hips against him in a synchronicity borne of many other nights together. Just as his control began to slip and his movements became much less smooth, she felt the tightening in her lower belly that told her fulfillment was within reach again. She deliberately squeezed around him, and let that additional caress send them both into their climaxes together. They rode out the spasms in between kisses, caresses, and murmurs of their love._

Once they were back to their senses, they rolled to their sides and Kaidan spooned against her back and wrapped his arm around her, with a palm resting on her abdomen. It was the position most comfortable for her injured shoulder, though she knew that being able to cradle their child while they slept was another benefit that Kaidan enjoyed. He placed a light kiss on her injured shoulder and settled back against his pillow.

"You should eat more than ice cream," she murmured sleepily.

"I think I just did," he said with a chuckle.

She laughed at his joke but sobered quickly and persisted. "I know you're worried, but you can't afford to stop eating," she told him then sighed when she realized she sounded like the nag she was being. "I just meant, you know you need to be at full strength."

"Stop worrying," he told her with another soft kiss to her shoulder. "I promise I'll eat a good breakfast... besides, you don't want to end up with gray hairs like me, do you?"

"I like the gray..." she said with a sigh, willing to let the subject go for now. She would hold him to his promise in the morning, though.

"You should, every single one of them has your name written on it," he told her pointedly.

"Then maybe I should hurry up and have this kid so you have someone else to worry about," she replied with a giggle.

"Not gonna save you, Kat, but nice try," Kaidan replied with a laugh of his own. He tightened his arms around her in a silent signal that she should relax and sleep. She still had a smile on her face when she complied.


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N - I'm so glad that there are still people out there reading and writing Mass Effect fanfiction! It is such a credit to the amazing production studio that Bioware is that, years later, the stories and characters stick with us, like old friends. It gives me hope for ME4 :-) As always, all credit for the universe and characters contained within my fics goes to them, and I thank them for it, and for allowing me such a richly appointed backdrop for my musings!_

_That being said, a personal thanks to those of you who have continued to follow and favorite me despite my long absence. It was heartwarming to hear from you, and I see there are new people on board now, too, so welcome! Special thanks to Jules Hawk, AngstyShenko, spaceconveyor, and the Guest reviewer (someone I know? been trying to figure it out!) for taking the time to share their thoughts with me! I appreciate the feedback and the assurance that this story is being well received. Since it is as close to original fic as I've ever come, going completely off the rails of the existing games and into the future my brain has dreamed up, I worry about it more than the other stories I've written..._

_Fridays look to be my best day for updates, so look for new stuff from me every week... My life is very full and busy atm, especially with the holidays approaching, but I have quite a bit written ahead on this story, a new chapter for Twist the Knife written and in proofreading now, and I'm toying with a new session of BBSG as well... So look for more from me soon! In the meantime, please enjoy the Shenko!  
><em>

_- Arin_

* * *

><p>Kat was bored. Well and truly out of her mind bored. She sat in the interview room and tried to find anything but the holes in the ceiling tiles to stare at while she waited for James to usher in their tenth interviewee. They had been at this since 0800, and she was frankly sick of hearing the same response over and over from in so many different voices. No matter how good a Commander Shepard stare she gave to the unlucky N candidate sitting across from her, the answer was always the same. No, ma'am, they had not seen anything on the firing range two days ago, other than their own target down range. No, they had no knowledge of how Captain Alenko came to be injured. No, they had not had any contact with any new persons or organizations before arriving in Rio, and no, ma'am, they had no idea who would want to harm Captain Alenko.<p>

The answers were made all the more frustrating because Kat believed every single one of them. She hadn't risen to the rank she was and been chosen to lead the Alliance in the war against the Reapers without having honed her skills in judging people to a fine edge. Each of these promising young officers had already been thoroughly screened before being sent to the Villa, but even so, Kat had been prepared not to trust any of them. She watched every minute gesture, held every candidate's stare with her own intimidating one, and listened carefully to every response. None of them had been lying. And she was ready to tell James he could keep police work.

She looked up with resigned sigh as the door opened again, and prepared herself for another round of the same old same old until she realized that it wasn't James or another candidate at the door, but rather her assistant, bearing a lunch tray. She smiled in pleasure as Lieutenant Kristina Alvarez set the tray full of food in front of her with a quick smile of her own.

"Kris," she said with the relief she felt bleeding into her voice. "There's enough food here for two pregnant biotics. Sit," she said with a hand wave to the chair opposite her. She helped herself to the bowl of refreshing tropical fruit and took a bite and chewed slowly as the other woman complied with her order. A thought struck and she swallowed before she asked, "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?"

"Major Alenko sends his regrets that he couldn't meet you for lunch," Kris replied, took a bite of her own, and swallowed before she added, "He got caught up with his students, something about a makeup advanced field test."

"Ah, right," Kat mumbled as she went back to eating. In between bites, she explained, "He left in the middle when he heard I was shot."

She smiled and relaxed as she ate her meal. If she couldn't have her husband's company, Kris would do just fine. She had been assigned to Kat shortly after she taken the instructor position and at first, their relationship had been rocky. Kat had stubbornly insisted that she was a combat veteran and had made it through the Reapers in one piece – mostly – so she didn't need a babysitter for this new assignment. It had taken several training runs, including the off-world ones involving combat before Kat had seen that Kris was more than just an administrative figurehead – she was a truly qualified combat marine in her own right. In the months since then, they had shed issues of mistrust and rank and become fast friends. In many ways, Kris reminded Kat so much of Ashley Williams that their friendship was both inevitable and bittersweet.

The fact that her assistant bore some physical resemblance to her long dead friend didn't help the comparison. Kris had the long dark hair of a true Hispanic, though her skin was several shades darker than Ash's had been, and her eyes were a mossy hazel that sometimes appeared brown, sometimes green. She was taller than Ash, almost the same height as Kat herself, and she was slimmer, but she still had the curves that screamed that she was very female. Of course, she also had the muscles that shouted she was a kick ass marine, too. Looks alone were similar, but her attitude was where the true comparison was sealed. She had a take-charge, no-nonsense, aggressive attitude that told anyone that knew her for more than a few seconds that she was a soldier first, a woman second. Kat often wondered if that attitude wasn't one of the reasons they had bonded so quickly after she had set aside her prejudices. In that, the similarity between all three women – Ash, Kat, and Kris – was clear.

"Must be nice having a man like that drop everything and run to your side," Kris said with a wistful sigh. "Of course, if I had one, I'd probably kick his ass and make him go back to work," she added with a self-deprecating grin.

"You could have any man you wanted and you know it," Kat pointed out as she narrowed her eyes at her friend. "And since when are you shopping for husbands?"

"Oh, I'm not," her friend hastened to correct her. She waved a hand as if to dismiss the topic. "Just something about _your_ husband, and the way that he looks at you... Could make even the toughest girl melt," she added with a shrug and a grin.

"Hmmm," Kat agreed with a contented smile. "He does at that."

"Ok, TMI, Captain," Kris said with another grin. "I'm fine watching from the sidelines, I don't need the details."

"Call me 'Captain' in private again, _Lieutenant_," Kat growled with emphasis, "And I'll tell you enough to make you melt... in envy."

"Yes, ma'am," Kris bantered back and then shuddered in mock horror. "Besides, they don't make guys like that anymore," she added casually as she began to clear the remnants of their lunch from the table. She turned to deposit the trash in the receptacle behind the door just as it swung open behind the force of James Vega. She whirled with fire in her eyes as the tray went flying and sprayed fruit juice all over the front of her uniform.

Kat watched in first humor then interest as her two friends met. James' cheeks colored red when he realized his blunder, then turned an even darker shade of red as he moved his eyes down to survey the damage... and stopped. Seconds later, he must have realized he was staring because his eyes snapped back to Kris' face, and Kat noticed that her assistant didn't appear to have enjoyed the perusal – or the very male reaction. She stood, hands on hips, glaring at James. It took him three tries and a clear of his throat to finally open his mouth and mumble an apology. Kris stormed out of the room without response, though both Kat and James heard her muttering in Spanish as she left. Even after eighteen months in Rio, Kat's language skills weren't that great, but she clearly caught and understood "_imbecile"_, "_cabron"_, and "_estupido"_.

"Great first impression, James," Kat said with a laugh when he finally turned back to look at her.

"Who was that?" he asked in a voice that sounded like he had been punched in the gut. He shook his head as if to clear it.

"My assistant," Kat answered him and she sobered a bit. She loved both Kris and James... but she wasn't sure she wanted to love them together. She mentally shrugged it off. Kris could handle herself and she wasn't too pleased with James anyway. She didn't need to worry. She changed the subject back to the business at hand. "Where's our next victim?" she asked James, giving him her best stare.

"I thought you might like a field trip first, Lola," he replied with a smile and a wave of his hand in the direction of the door.

She stood and moved to comply. "Field trip?" she asked as they walked down the hall.

"Yeah, to the range," he explained as he summoned the elevator. "I've already been over it, but maybe you'll find something new."

"Couldn't hurt," she agreed as they headed down the hall to the N1 range. Each classification was assigned their own training area, to prevent any scheduling hassles and to allow the candidates unrestricted access to the facilities at any hour. Of course, the N1 range had been locked down since her shooting. Not even instructors could override the Alliance MP lock, so Kat stood to the side of the door as James uncoded and opened the door. He motioned her in first and re-engaged the lock after he followed her.

In the anteroom, they donned the armor they were required to wear at all times on a live fire range. Though this one was locked down, caution more than anything caused them to take the time to follow the regulations as if the range were in use. Once they were suited up, Kat opened the door to the range itself. She couldn't prevent a shudder as the memory of that moment of panic she had felt when she realized she had been shot washed over her but she shook her head at James' look of concern. In the end, she had been through many more frightening experiences and suffered far worse injuries than the other day. As memories went, this one wasn't all that bad.

She began to walk slowly, letting muscle memory more than anything retrace her steps of the day of the shooting. On the first day of an incoming class, she always took them to the range. Each candidate was already an active Alliance officer with commendations and recommendations. They didn't need to pass any firearms qualifications to meet the program demands – a simple test was too remedial for them. Rather, Kat brought them here for her own personal evaluation. You could tell a lot about a person by how they handled their weapon and the process they went through in even this most routine of circumstances. And Kat had vowed when she took this assignment to never walk into combat with someone she didn't know again, if she could prevent it. So the first day, they came to the range to begin their acquaintance.

She stopped almost without thinking about it and looked around. As far as she could remember, right here behind what had been the last empty stall is where she had been standing when the bullet struck her. She had been holding her rifle, going through her standard checks, before she moved into the stall and prepared to fire. Perhaps it was gloating, but she always liked to open her range tests with a few rounds of her own. Candidates stopped seeing her as a pregnant woman once they saw her near perfect scores. Once she had fired off a clip, she'd then move down the line and stand behind each candidate, quietly observing them until she was satisfied that she had gotten a feel for their rhythm, then move on. Two days ago, the shooter had prevented her from even starting the familiar routine.

She peered down range, narrowing her eyes to see as far and accurately as she could, but she didn't any pockmarks scarring the target at the other end. It would have been fresh, hung for her in preparation of her range test. Some ranges had switched to purely electronic sensors, but Kat preferred old school. There was something viscerally appealing to being able to retract the thick plastic sheeting and trace the holes your bullets had made with your fingers. Primitive, but so much of real combat was. Why not have the test as close to the real thing as you could manage on a closed course?

She studied the markings on the wall beside the target and tried to decide if any were new. She always used this stall, so it wouldn't surprise her if she had memorized the few misses, but she wasn't about to trust her judgment. She turned to James, who was standing just behind her shoulder, looking in the same direction.

"You retrieved all of the slugs from the wides?" she asked, referring to the markings she had studied.

"Yeah, none of them matched the caliber your doctor said was used," he answered, and she nodded. It was the answer she had been expecting. The mention of her doctor gave her another thought.

"Did the doc say which was the entry and which was the exit wound?" she asked thoughtfully.

"You were shot from the front," James answered with a 'don't you know this already' look.

"Right, so why are we looking down range?" Kat asked as realization struck her. In all their careful interrogation, they hadn't actually talked about what direction she had been facing. A stupid oversight, though she wasn't sure she could have answered the question accurately before this field trip.

"Wait, you're saying you were facing the target?" James asked in confirmation. "_Dios_, I didn't think to question..."

"And I didn't think to clarify," she replied with a wave of dismissal. "The bullet would be... " she paused and searched a spot past his shoulder and pointed, "...there."

James saw the pock mark on the wall as if it were glaringly obvious now. He was still cursing his stupidity as he reached a hand out and traced the hole in the wall with his fingers. "Maybe you should be the MP, Lola," he said with a wince.

"Don't kick yourself, James," she said as she walked up behind him to study the bullet hole. "It's not every day your friend and training officer gets shot."

"I'll get the techs in here to dig this thing out and get it to the lab," James said as he turned to face her, "But now we have another problem."

"Yeah, how did someone shoot me from down range during a live fire exercise and with no witnesses?" Kat easily stated their dilemma.

"I have a feeling the Major's not gonna like this," James told her as he escorted her back to the anteroom to remove their armor.

**###**

The Major did not like it at all. Kat invited James for dinner, and the three of them went over their discovery as they sat at in the dining room, sharing their meal. Kat noted the look of concern come back in place over Kaidan's face and increase the longer the discussion continued. She was nearly relieved when a chime sounded indicating that someone was at the door, though they were not expecting any visitors. And having someone show up at their door was highly unusual.

Kaidan stood to answer the door and Kat shared a look with James. The tension may have been cut but it left curiosity in its wake. Kat felt much better when she recognized the voice that followed Kaidan back into the room. She looked up with a smile as she saw Kris enter with Kaidan right on her heels.

"Kat, Command asked me to deliver this re-" Kris broke off as she noticed the other occupant of the room for the first time. "Oh," she added in surprise, and a blush spread over her face before her eyes narrowed and her lips set in anger.

Kaidan met Kat's eyes with a question in his but she gestured with her hand to dismiss it. She'd explain later, she needed to head off a fight now.

"Kris, you had something for me?" she questioned her assistant casually, while she stood to block Kris' view of James.

"Right, I guess it's actually for Lieutenant Vega, but Command couldn't locate him," she threw an arch look over Kat's shoulder at Vega to enhance her pointed comment before she continued, "So they asked me to bring it here instead. Is your omni-tool malfunctioning, Lieutenant?" she asked in a deliberately casual tone.

James blushed and activated his 'tool. "I believe it was on silent, Lieutenant," he mumbled in a not-quite apology.

The look Kris sent him told everyone her opinion of that negligence. She sighed and moved on. "Just as well, Command didn't want to take a chance of the communication being intercepted, so they requested hand delivery," she explained. "Sorry for just showing up, but you were on the way home."

"You're always welcome here, Kris," Kaidan said with a welcoming smile, "You know that. Would you like to join us for dinner?"

"No... no, I can't stay," Kris immediately replied with a shake of her head that was just a little too much. "I'll just leave this with you and be on my way," she added as she handed the datapad she was carrying to Kat and beat a hasty retreat out of the room.

Kaidan watched her go in confusion, then turned back to his wife. "You are going to explain that, right?" he asked.

"James and Kris met earlier, it didn't go well," Kat summarized distractedly. She was too busy reading the report her assistant had delivered to give more explanation. Kaidan turned to James, hoping for further clarification, but Kat's next words sent any thought of awkward social situations flying out of his brain. "We have another problem. Ballistics says the bullet that shot me is not Alliance issue."

"So you were shot in the middle of an Alliance firing range on a high security Alliance base with only Alliance personnel on record as present, but the weapon wasn't Alliance issue?" James summarized.

"Right," Kat confirmed as she sank back into her chair and handed the datapad over to Kaidan so he could read it himself.

"There's only one person I can think of that could pull this off," Kaidan commented when he finished reading. "And I'm completely sure she wouldn't shoot you."

"Agreed," Kat said, easily following his logic. "But maybe Kasumi would know who would..." she said, tapping her nails on the surface of the table as she thought.

"Kasumi Goto?" James asked for confirmation that they were speaking of the infiltrator who had helped Kat during the Cerberus days, and then with the Crucible project during the Reaper War.

"One and the same," Kat confirmed with a grin. "Problem is, I have no idea where she is right now. No one has heard from her since London."

"So maybe she switched sides?" James guessed.

"No," Kat and Kaidan replied simultaneously. They met and shared a smile that was finally full and happy. They each had their own reasons to believe in Kasumi, but neither would doubt her.

**###**

James left them shortly after and Kat and Kaidan headed straight to bed. As they changed and prepared for sleep, they discussed and rejected several ideas for locating their sneaky friend. In the end, it was Kaidan that came up with the brilliant plan. What was the one thing no thief could resist? The perfect heist. Now they'd just have to find a way to create one real enough to lure her into the trap, clever enough to be able to catch her, and not break Alliance regs doing it. Still, Kat was very pleased with her husband once they had at least the beginnings of an idea. She turned to him and met his mouth in a kiss of thanks.

"I hope our baby gets your brain," Kat said with a huge smile when their lips parted.

"Let's hope for my sake the baby has its own brain," Kaidan joked.

She poked him in the ribs with her good arm. "You know what I mean," she said sullenly.

"I do," he replied and gave her a conciliatory kiss. "But it's not like you're dumb, Kat..."

"Ok, fine," she conceded with a sigh. "Then our baby will just be brilliant."

"And beautiful," he added.

"Or handsome," she muttered. "And hopefully that's beautiful girl or handsome boy," she rambled until he finally closed his mouth over hers to shut her up.


	5. Chapter 4

_A/N - All credit for the characters and universe depicted in this fic go to Bioware. I own nothing, I just like to play with them (in a way that is hopefully pleasing to both them and you!) Are you liking my original character? When I planned this fic, it was around the idea of having a Kris, and having her paired with James - not spoiling here, it was fairly obvious, right? - but to tell that story entirely from the Shenko perspective... looking in from the outside and being able to give advice, etc. If you want more of James and Kris, that might be something I could write separately outside this fic... drop me a line and let me know!_

* * *

><p>In the end, the plan was simple, though it took three weeks for all the pieces to finally fall together. It was a tense and stressful three weeks, where James and Kaidan hovered around Kat so much she thought she would go crazy at times. It took a great deal of patience and control to remind herself that they were just worried because they cared about her so she shouldn't vent her infamous temper on them at every opportunity. If it hadn't been for the distraction of James and Kris, she might not have succeeded, but watching the two of them alternately go out of the way to avoid each other and clash in brilliant displays of Latin tempers (mostly from Kris) amused Kat highly. And her Spanish vocabulary was increasing nicely, even if it mostly included insults.<p>

Kat had remembered Kasumi's love of real books so the 'booty' for the heist was a first edition of _Pride and Prejudice_. Even if Kasumi was stealing it for someone else, Kat didn't think she could resist being able to touch the Jane Austen masterpiece at least once. Since the novel contained themes of love winning out in the end, she knew it would appeal to their friend's romantic side as well. The problem was locating an intact copy of the 375 year old publication, and convincing the owner to risk their prize possession. Although they didn't plan on actually letting Kasumi go through with the crime, if they were wrong, it was a mistake valued at upwards of 2 million credits. It had to be real, though, as they knew Kasumi wouldn't be easily fooled.

Ultimately, they brought the Villa's CO into the loop, and it turned out to be a wise decision. The admiral had a friend who was a rare book collector, and once they revealed their plan, she was able to convince her friend to cooperate. Once the target was located, they set about hiring their thief. Again, they reached out for help, this time from Council Spectre Jondam Bau. Kat remembered that the salarian had a special interest in Kasumi and figured he would have some ideas on how to reach her. He didn't let her down, and suggested several underground extranet sites as the perfect place to start. Kaidan spent several evenings posting to the sites before they got a reply and set up a meet.

"So I get why you don't want to take a chance on electronic communication given that there's a high level hacker out there," Kris said as she stood in Kat and Kaidan's bedroom, brushing out her long hair in preparation for the meet.

"And I even understand the elaborate scheme to draw your friend out," she added as she peered in the mirror with eyes narrowed to check her appearance. "And why you're not going is obvious," she said to a wave, who was seated on a chair in the corner with her hands resting over the 'obvious' part of the reason.

At five months pregnant, Kat's condition had finally become impossible to hide, though she was far from fat. She just had a noticeable bump across her middle now, which never failed to make Kaidan smile when he saw it. Although it could be concealed with loose-fitting shirts, the visible reminder of her condition had, more than anything, made Kaidan put his foot down and state she was not leaving the base for the meeting with Kasumi. He just couldn't ensure she would be safe, even among the Saturday afternoon tourist crowds visiting the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio's Centro district. Kat had given in somewhat gracefully. Getting Kasumi back here was the goal, she didn't have to be the one to do it.

"But why me? And why dressed like this?" Kris finally reached her point as she simultaneously tugged on the hem of her dress to lower it and the neckline to raise it.

"You because the deal that I made with Kaidan was that if I couldn't go, he couldn't either," Kat explained as she studied her friend.

The dress was red, short, and tight. She knew Kris well enough to know it had probably hung in her closet for years – rarely was her assistant in civilian attire – and she had just grabbed the first thing she found for the assignment without thinking. Kat made a mental note to ask Kris about her pre-war days. If the dress were any indication, the Lieutenant had been a much less sober person before the Reapers. But then, so had they all.

"That left you or James," Kat continued her explanation. "I don't want to spook Kasumi before we get a chance to explain ourselves, and she might recognize James from... London," she hesitated before using the geographic location to summarize her months of trauma in the hospital after she had fired the Crucible. "That left you. You picked the dress yourself, although may I say I wish I could look like that right now... or ever," she said with a pat of her baby bump and a self-deprecating grin. "I just said civies. Kasumi isn't fond of the military."

"Oh please, Kat," Kris said as she turned to her friend. "You've never looked more beautiful," she corrected her with a cross look.

"I couldn't agree more," Kaidan said as he walked through the open door with a smile. He walked to Kat's side and leaned over to kiss his wife. "Thanks for doing my job for me, Kris," he added with a smile. He walked to the other woman and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Although Kat's right, you're stunning," he added as he stood at arm's length studying her. "James is waiting out in the car, if you're ready?"

"Fine, but you owe me for the hour I have to spend in the car with that _mico_," she growled as she walked out of the room with a huff. She hadn't been thrilled with her choice of escort, but she had lost the argument that she could go alone.

Kaidan waited until she was safely out of earshot before he turned to his wife and commented casually, "I believe the monkey is going to swallow his own tongue when he sees Kris in that dress."

"Hmm, I bet she regrets not thinking about her choice a little more now," Kat added speculatively.

Kaidan sent her a surprised look, then shook his head. "Kat, a woman doesn't wear something like that by mistake," he said pointedly. "Even I can see that she picked that dress out with James in mind."

"What?" Kat cried in alarm. She stood abruptly and turned to Kaidan as if she was preparing for combat. "What are you trying to say, Kaidan?"

"Seriously?" he asked with another shake of his head. "You haven't noticed that they've been dancing around each other since they met?"

"Well, yeah, they don't like each other," Kat replied, hands on hips. She relaxed slightly, but Kaidan's chuckle had her tensing again.

Kaidan walked across the room and placed both hands on his wife's shoulders. When she met his laughing eyes with fire in her green ones, he smiled softly. "They like each other just fine," he told her patiently. "They're just playing a game I seem to remember the two of us playing years ago," he added.

"We never fought like that," she countered, still unwilling to concede.

"No, we just hid behind regulations and vague comments," Kaidan agreed easily. "Until we couldn't hide anymore," he added with a kiss.

"James and Kris?" Kat said in irritated confusion when they parted. "They can't like each other, not like that," she argued, as if convincing Kaidan would make it not so.

"Why, Kat?" it was Kaidan's turn to be confused. "I thought you'd be happy, that you'd want them to be happy..."

"I do want them to be happy," Kat replied. "Just not together."

"They'd be good together," Kaidan pointed out, "They have a lot in common, really, and they're both our friends. And James deserves someone, after everything..."

"But she's my assistant," Kat said with a sigh, "And he's my..."

"Brother?" Kaidan filled in when she struggled for the right description. He had always seen their relationship in that light, though he realized when Kat looked up at him in surprise that she had never defined it before now.

"Yeah, I guess he is," she replied after a thoughtful pause.

"And you're ridiculously protective of all your family," Kaidan added with a proud smile. "Which is why you're going to be an incredible mother," he said as he placed a palm over their child. She placed her hand over his and they shared a smile that communicated their love for the life they had created.

"I guess I should start being a better sister first," Kat finally said with a sigh and a wry grin. "You really think they'll be good together?" she asked a little timidly. She felt stupid now for not seeing it herself, but she trusted Kaidan in this as all things.

"Yeah, if they ever figure it out themselves," Kaidan responded. "Now, in the meantime, we have a little time before they return..." he added suggestively as he lowered his mouth to hers.

"Not sure we have time for what you're thinking," Kat said against his lips before she completed the kiss.

"Mmm," he murmured into their kiss. He pulled back enough to add, "Then let's pretend we're still dancing around regs and make out like we used to in engineering."

"Ah the good old days," Kat said with a happy sigh before she opened her mouth under his.

**###**

They were a little disheveled but still dressed when they opened their door two hours later to three people in radically different moods. James was grinning like a fool, Kris was scowling, and Kasumi, well, she looked both concerned and irritated. Her look immediately changed when she saw Kat... to one of pleased surprise. The thief threw her arms around her old commander as if they were nothing more than girlfriends meeting after a long time apart.

"A baby, Shep!" Kasumi nearly squeaked in excitement when she pulled out of the hug and clapped her hands together happily. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You weren't the easiest person in the galaxy to locate," Kat said drily as she led the group inside to the living room. She suffered Kasumi's first pat of her baby bump, but when she went in for a second, she batted her friend's hands away. She motioned to the comfortable seats and took one herself, on the small loveseat, and Kaidan sank beside her.

"Sorry about that," Kasumi finally said in meek contrition. "And I'm guessing there's no Jane Austen?" she added with a little disappointment.

"There is... but it's not why you're really here," Kat answered. At Kasumi's thoughtful look she added, "And you have to promise not to steal it," with a threatening glare.

"You're really no fun anymore," Kasumi replied with a pout. "But a baby," she went on in a tone of soft wonder, as if she had just remembered, "I guess I can forgive you. I want to know everything... When are you due? What are you having? What are you naming it? Is Kaidan the father?" Kasumi shot questions at her rapid-fire until Kat was finally forced to raise her hand in a 'stop' gesture.

"Four months, we decided it would be a surprise, we haven't picked a name, and... really, Kasumi?" Kat answered the questions in the order asked.

"Well, you never know," Kasumi defended her paternity question casually. "But you must be so happy," she said directly to Kaidan.

"I am," he agreed with a nod, then he picked up his wife's hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. He threaded their fingers together and let their joined hands rest on his thigh before he added, "We are."

"_We_ will be a lot happier if we can find whoever is trying to kill me," Kat growled and turned the subject to business.

They spent the next hour and a half laying out the details of the investigation and answering Kasumi's few questions. When they had shared everything they knew, all eyes in the room turned to Kasumi who sat perched on one of the chairs in the corner. She leaned forward and tapped her chin with two fingers as she thought. Finally, she sighed and sat back.

"I don't know who shot you," she said to Kat regretfully, "And I could give you a list of potential suspects, but that's not the real solution," she concluded. "You can spend time chasing these people like you did me, but it seems to me, you need to figure out who is behind all this more than catch the shooter."

"We were hoping the shooter might lead us to them," Kaidan reminded her reasonably.

"Waste of time," Kasumi dismissed that with a wave of her hand. "There's very few people – or should I say organizations – with the resources to pull all of this off," she announced with dramatic flair.

"You're talking about Cerberus?" Kat guessed with a surprised look.

"Yes, given the connection to you, it seems obvious, doesn't it?" Kasumi confirmed with satisfaction.

"But, the Illusive Man is dead," Kaidan said hesitantly, turning to Kat. "You said he killed himself before you fired the Crucible?"

"He did," she confirmed slowly. "But he also warned me that Cerberus was an ideal; that it wouldn't die with him," she added with a tired sigh. She tightened her hand around Kaidan's and met his eyes in the hopes of seeing a contradiction in them. She really, really didn't want Kasumi to be right. She just couldn't think of an argument against the theory. It all fit... too well. Unfortunately, Kaidan looked as shell-shocked and grim as she did.

"They didn't name themselves after a three-headed dog for nothing," Kris added ironically. When everyone turned to look at her in surprise, she shrugged. "What? I remember my mythology," she explained a little sheepishly.

"Smart and beautiful," James said with a low whistle and a grin. "That's a deadly combination."

Kris blushed at the praise before she remembered herself and glared at James. His grin didn't falter, and Kat realized that Kaidan was right about them. She just hoped they had an easier time of it than she and Kaidan had.

"So let's assume Cerberus is behind this," Kaidan said. "What are they trying to accomplish? And why?"

"Draw me out by killing people I used to know?" Kat guessed.

"Maybe they want revenge for your part in the boss' death?" James added his own hypothesis.

"It's been quite some time since the Illusive Man's death, and it's still a very elaborate scheme for simple revenge," Kaidan countered. "If they could get someone on base to shoot Kat, why the other killings? And how?"

"I don't know," Kasumi conceded with a shrug. "But Shep might know some people who could tell us..."

"Miranda or Jacob?" Kat guessed at what Kasumi's hint meant. When the thief nodded, Kat went on, "They cut their ties to Cerberus before the war."

"But they still might have some insight," Kaidan pointed out with a nod to Kasumi for her idea. "Especially Miranda."

"At least I don't have to plan a heist to ask them," Kat said with a grumble. Kasumi gave a small smile of apology but Kat waved it away. Her sour mood wasn't Kasumi's fault, she was just the messenger. "I guess it's Normandy reunion time?" she added with a mocking grin.

"I'll get a message to her through safe channels, Jacob too," Kaidan said with a kiss to her cheek. He tried to stand to head to the office to do that, but Kat tugged on their joined hands to keep him seated. "What?" he asked her in concern.

"If this is Cerberus, I don't want to take any chances with our friends," she pleaded. "Let's face it, if Cerberus wants revenge against me, they have to want Miranda and Jacob, too. If we lead Cerberus to them..."

"Hey," Kaidan said as she trailed off sadly. He leaned over and kissed her softly before he stood again. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing," he reassured her before she finally smiled and dropped his hand so he could leave.

"I'll come with you," Kasumi told told him. "What you don't know, I do," she added with a smirk. "Between the two of us, Jacob and Miranda will be safe," she called over her shoulder as she followed Kaidan to the office.

Kat watched them with a worried look before they disappeared around the corner. She turned back to the only other occupants of the room and studied them for a moment. Kris and James were very carefully studying each other and trying to be sure that the other didn't notice. She sighed and both their heads swiveled to her in guilty surprise.

"You two should just get a room and get it over with," Kat growled, letting her temper loose for just a moment before she sighed again and reined it in. At their shocked looks, she shrugged an apology and added, "Sorry, that was a little blunt, even for me. But take my advice... Life is too short not to take your happiness where you can."

She lowered her head and studied her wedding rings, wishing that someone had said that to her years ago. Sure, things worked out in the end, but not without struggle, heartbreak, and even death. And now it looked like the organization that was behind much of that was rearing its ugly head to threaten them again. She placed her hand protectively over her child, thinking that she would do anything, fight anyone, to protect her baby. And Kaidan would do the same.

"We'll keep you safe, Lola," James said softly, seeing the gesture and correctly reading the motivation behind her words. He ignored the rest of her statement, though the light blush on his cheeks indicated that he had understood that as well.

"We'll figure this out," Kris added her support with a small smile. She, too, didn't comment on Kat's advice.

Kat smiled her thanks to her friends and a silence fell back over the room until Kaidan and Kasumi returned several minutes later. Kat looked up with hope that quickly turned to concern and confusion when she saw the grim look on Kaidan's face. She waited until he seated himself beside her once again and drew both her hands into one of his before she finally said just his name in a questioning tone. Kaidan placed his free hand against her cheek and took a deep breath before he answered her.

"We spoke to Jacob," he began hesitantly. "He and Brynn send their love, and Steven is fine," he added, referring to their son who was born before they had even left London.

"Kaidan, just tell me," Kat said in a stern tone that told him she knew he was stalling.

"We couldn't reach Miranda," he began carefully, "But we did get Oriana. She told us Miranda has been missing for a week," he finished, searching her face with concern.

"Missing?" Kat echoed in shock. "Like when she was searching for Ori..." she added, clinging to any hope she could find.

"No," Kasumi stepped in to deliver the bad news when Kaidan hesitated again. "She's been living with her sister and working at an Alliance research facility since after the war, as you know," she went on in explanation. "She left for work as usual last Wednesday and never arrived. No one has heard from her since. And..." here even Kasumi hesitated.

"Security footage has been hacked and corrupted?" Kat filled in her guess. She didn't need Kaidan's nod to confirm it. "So whoever is behind this has Miranda," she summarized with a growl.

"Kat..." Kaidan drew her attention back to him, and the look in his eyes told her that the bad news wasn't done yet. "Oriana received a message from the kidnappers. She was trying to get through channels to us since then, she just doesn't have the resources her sister has. The message is addressed to you." He paused and stroked her cheek in a futile effort to reassure her.

"What do they want?" she asked, and her voice held the hard edge of command. She brushed his hand away and gave him her Commander Shepard stare. "Kaidan, what did the message say?"

"Tell Shepard if she wants her friend back, she'll meet us at these coordinates within a solar month," Kasumi recited when Kaidan once again hesitated. "The coordinates are offworld... On Demeter to be exact," she added, naming the garden planet that was humanity's first extrasolar colony.

"Fitting," Kat said as she recognized the location's significance easily. "Pro-human organization and all." She stood and began to walk out of the room.

Kaidan grabbed her arm to halt her, much as she had done to him earlier. "Kat, where are you going?" he asked.

"To pack," Kat replied as if it were obvious. "Then I suppose I need to speak with Command, and contact the Normandy..." she trailed off and she continued to think through her plans in her head.

"We're not going anywhere tonight," Kaidan said firmly and didn't cower under the glare she gave him. "We'll plan our next move," he added in a tone that brooked no argument. "But we'll do it carefully. Tomorrow. After you've had some rest."

"Kaidan..." she began, trying to appeal to his softer emotions.

"Don't 'Kaidan' me, not now," he replied with a stern look. "I care about Miranda, and I want to help her. But this isn't the old days. And you're not just Commander Shepard anymore. And my pregnant wife is not going to run off into what is definitely a trap without taking the time to rest... and plan."

They stared each other down for long, tense minutes before she finally sighed and gave in. Every part of her wanted to jump into action, to do something, so she didn't have to feel the sick guilt that people were suffering because of her. But Kaidan was right, and she knew it. She had the baby to consider, and she didn't take her promise to protect it lightly. She turned back to their friends, who had waited in silence while she and Kaidan argued silently.

"James, can you find Kasumi a place to stay?" she asked.

"She can stay with me," Kris put in. "I have a daybed in my office for when one of my family visits," she reminded Kat.

"Right," Kat said with a nod. "That ok with you, Kasumi?" she asked as an after-thought.

"Sure, Shep," Kasumi replied agreeably. "But I'm still not signing up for any suicide missions," she joked to lighten the mood.

"Neither are we," Kat said solemnly with a pointed look at Kaidan.

They said their goodnights and ushered their friends out the door shortly after. Once they were alone, Kat turned back to Kaidan.

"I mean it, Kaidan," Kat began as they walked to their bedroom together. "I will be careful. I love our baby as much as you do, and I'm not going to take any chances or launch any suicide missions," she promised quietly. "But I'm not going to sit on the sidelines and watch my friends get hurt or killed either..."

Kaidan sat on the bed and began to remove his boots and socks before he answered her. "I know that, Kat," he finally said as he set the first boot aside and switched feet. "All of that. And we've already talked about this. I'm not going to ask you to stand back... I wouldn't," he corrected as he finished the second boot and stood to start removing his shirt. "I would never try to change you, Kat," he added as he pulled the shirt over his head and bared his chest. "I just want you to be careful."

Kat found her interest in the conversation was decreasing with the amount of skin her husband revealed and wondered if that had been his plan. She opened her mouth to ask that very question when an odd sensation from her stomach caused her to cut off her words with a gasp. She sank onto the bed and placed a hand over her bump, going very, very still.

"Kat?" Kaidan asked in alarm as he knelt beside her, his eyes locked on her face, searching for clues to the cause of her strange behavior.

"Ssshh," Kat replied and waved a hand dismissively. She waited patiently for another few seconds before she felt it again, then she broke out in a huge grin. She grabbed Kaidan's hand and drew it to her stomach, placing hers on top of it.

"What's going on?" Kaidan asked in concerned confusion.

"The baby kicked," Kat answered with a grin. "Wait, it'll do it again." Almost on cue, the small jab came again, right under Kaidan's hand. Kat met her husband's eyes and noted the tears welling in them. She smiled softly and her heart melted with love all over again. She leaned over and kissed him chastely then sat back and said, "I think it knows its father."

"That's... incredible," Kaidan said after a long pause. He was nearly speechless in wonder and love.

"Hmm," Kat hummed in happy agreement. "Although we should probably stop calling the baby 'it' now," she added with a sigh. "Somehow the whole thing is so much more real now. And I guess our son or daughter has made your point for you," she concluded.

She looked down and saw that Kaidan was still completely distracted by the bump on her belly. He lifted her shirt and pressed his cheek against where they had felt their child kick. He closed his eyes and sighed in happy contentment and she brought her hands up into his hair and held him against her. They had plenty of time to worry about the outside world tomorrow. For now, they could share this quiet moment of intimacy and love together and forget about the rest.


	6. Chapter 5

_A/N: And I'm back again! So sorry for the long delay here, but the holidays were crazy busy in our family, and even included my eldest son graduating from Basic training with the Army! Hope everyone had lovely holidays as well! My gift to you, a double post, including **Shenko smut**! Thanks to my reviewers, AngstyShenko, Jules Hawk, spaceconveyor, and the Guest reviewer (even if I don't know you, happy to have you aboard and have your feedback!)... I appreciate that all of you have taken the time to give me your thoughts and encouragement. To everyone else reading, following, favoriting, I appreciate that so much as well. _

_All credit for the characters and universe in which I write belongs as always to Bioware. They are truly amazing and I just enjoy playing in their worlds and writing about them!_

_This chapter is earning the story's M rating, and our lovely couple will be getting busy in the best way... It is **NSFW**, and if that is not your thing, please skip the italicized section and you'll be safe._

_If you're so inclined, the review form at the bottom is waiting to record your thoughts and feedback, and I'm always available for PM. Now, on to the Shenko!_

* * *

><p>They met with Kris, Kasumi, and James the following morning over breakfast, and despite the grim topic, neither Kat nor Kaidan could keep the soft, happy smile from their faces for long. They knew they were confusing the group at large, but they couldn't help but be wrapped up in the wonder of being first time parents, no matter the subject of the meeting. When the baby finally made its presence known again in the middle of the meeting and Kat stopped speaking, mid-sentence, and turned to Kaidan to tell him, the rest of their friends joined in the happy mood as well. Danger and trap or no, babies were hard to resist, and Kaidan begrudgingly let each of their friends take a turn feeling the physical proof that theirs was alive and well. When everyone left after lunch, they had the beginnings of a strategy, and the mood was much lighter.<p>

Kaidan returned from ushering their friends out the door to find Kat sitting in the living room, and her mood much more serious than it had been before.

"Kat?" he questioned softly.

"The problem is this isn't the War anymore," Kat said in a statement that was both contradictory and confusing. To anyone that wasn't Kaidan, that is.

"And we can't take the Normandy and run off to rescue Miranda without going up the chain of command," Kaidan quickly saw the point she was making.

"Exactly," Kat said with a frown. "We're a Captain and a Major in the Alliance military..."

"And we're still both Council Spectres," Kaidan added pointedly.

Kat grabbed his hands and yanked him to her for a big kiss. When they pulled back, she was grinning. "You're brilliant, Major," she told him before she kissed him again.

"Of course I am - I married you," he replied between kisses. He used the leverage of his hands that were still locked in hers to draw her to their bedroom to show her how brilliant he could be.

**###**

They began their slow climb up the proverbial chain of command in their CO's office the next morning. The admiral had a soft spot for both of them and knew some of the story already thanks to her inclusion in the plot to lure Kasumi, so she quickly did what a mid-level administrator did best and deferred to Vancouver HQ. She did place both officers on indefinite leave before she washed her hands of the matter. She then further caved under Kat's demands for her assistant and added Lieutenant Kristina Alvarez to the list of officers on indeterminate leave. She wished them luck as they left her office to make arrangements for their departure to Canada, and they knew she meant it.

While Kat employed her omni-tool to send a flurry of messages to James, Kris, Kasumi, and finally the transportation center to arrange their travel, Kaidan placed a call with his. They hadn't seen his mother since she had visited over Christmas, six months ago, and had broken the news of Kat's pregnancy via holo-conference. They remained in touch with weekly calls, though they had missed their regular appointment yesterday. He knew his mother wouldn't be concerned, they had busy lives and missed calls occasionally happened. He hoped the idea of in-person rendezvous while they were in Vancouver would more than make up for their missed call. After several seconds, he heard his mother's voice come on line.

"Hey, Mom," he greeted her casually. "Sorry we missed our call yesterday, something came up."

"Kaidan," his mother answered in pleased surprise. "Don't worry, I was married to an Alliance man... I know the drill." They both fell silent for a long minute as they remembered his father. He had never been found, and a year after the war, the Alliance had officially declared him KIA. He and Kat had stood huddled with his mother on a rainy, gray Canadian day and said their goodbyes.

"Well, as it turns out, we have business at HQ. We're headed to Vancouver..." he turned to Kat who mouthed 'morning' to him silently. "In the morning. We have some meetings, but maybe we could have lunch?"

"Both you and Kat have business in Vancouver. Suddenly. At the last minute," Marina Alenko echoed suspiciously. "What's going on, Kaidan?"

"Mom, I can't answer that, not yet," Kaidan replied evasively. He hated lying to his mother, but his desire to protect her from worry was stronger. "Can you meet us in the city for lunch?"

"Of course I can," Marina replied in a tone that indicated that she wasn't done questioning him, she'd just wait to do it in person. "I can't wait to see both of you."

"We can't wait to see you either," Kaidan replied with relief. He knew he wasn't out of trouble, only delaying it, but at least he'd have Kat to back him up at lunch tomorrow. "I love you, Mom," he added as he prepared to end the call.

"I love you both, too," Marina responded. "Call me when you're in town," she added as they signed off.

Kaidan turned to Kat who had listened to the last of the conversation quietly. "Why do I get a feeling that lunch with my mom is going to be worse than the rest of our meetings?" he asked rhetorically.

Kat laughed and threaded her arm through his as they walked to the car together.

**###**

The next morning, Kaidan and Kat sat facing the gruff, scarred face of Admiral Steven Hackett and Kaidan reconsidered his opinion. The man facing them listened patiently as they laid out the investigation, what progress they had made so far, and the situation with Miranda and his expression slowly turned from curious interest to an irritated glare. When they finished the last of the story, he cut off any requests they may have made by standing abruptly from the chair behind his desk. He stalked to the floor to ceiling windows that spanned one wall of his office and stood with his back to them, looking out over the impressive view of Vancouver. He clasped one wrist with his other hand behind his back in a gesture they both recognized from many debriefs during the war.

"Captain Alenko," the Admiral began without turning to face them, "You are, according to your records, currently on medical restriction. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Sir," Kat replied quietly, while she stroked a hand over the front of her dress blues. Her uniform had been tailored to her altered appearance, but it didn't hide her condition. In fact, the straight cut of the uniform jacket made the reason for her 'medical restriction' abundantly clear – a fact that she was sure Admiral Hackett had observed the moment he saw her. She was sure his question wasn't a clarification, but a point he was trying to make.

"I appreciate that these circumstances place you in an uncomfortable position," the Admiral continued as he finally turned to them. He remained in front of windows and the sun behind him cast his face in shadows so that they couldn't see his expression. "And I admire your courage and willingness to help – I always have," he added. "But what in _hell_ makes you think I'm going to approve sending a pregnant woman into a combat situation?" he finally finished in a growl.

"With all due respect, Admiral," Kaidan spoke up as Kat sat speechless under the weight of that growl. He winced a bit as he remembered Ashley's dislike for the phrase he had chosen, but he couldn't retract his words now. "Captain Alenko has no intention of entering combat. We have a strategy to prevent that. But we do need to appear to comply with the kidnappers' requests to ensure Miranda – Ms. Lawson's - safety."

"And you plan to lead this mission, Major Alenko?" Admiral Hackett replied.

"I plan to lead the ground team," Kaidan answered honestly. "Captain Alenko would be in command of the Normandy."

"Of course she would," Hackett said with a resigned sigh. "Ok, you two, let's hear it," he ordered as he took his seat behind his desk again.

**###**

After an extensive explanation of their strategy and answering a few questions they hadn't even considered, they left the Admiral's office and headed out of HQ and to the restaurant they had planned for their lunch with Kaidan's mother. They had finally secured Hackett's tentative cooperation with their plans, and his promise to contact the Normandy and have her return to HQ ASAP. Since she had just left on a diplomatic escort to the Citadel, and the relay to the Widow system was one of the first to be completely repaired, they could expect the frigate back within three days. Kat chafed against the delay, but resigned herself to it. The military operated on its own time, and they were lucky to have gotten the concessions they had.

They reached the open air cafe and saw that Marina had already arrived and was seated at a table to the right. They waved away the server that approached them and walked over to Marina. She looked up just before they reached her and stood. She held out her arms with a huge smile and first Kaidan and then Kat stepped into her welcoming hug. She released Kat from the embrace but let her hand fall to her belly and covered the bump in a gesture reminiscent of her son's.

"How is my grandchild?" she asked with a pat of her hand to emphasize the question.

"Perfect," Kat replied with a proud smile. "We felt him kick for the first time the other night."

"Him?" Marina echoed in surprise. "I thought you wanted to be surprised." She seated herself back in her chair and waited impatiently for them to answer while they took seats across from her.

"We do," Kaidan replied. "But after she kicked, we couldn't use 'it' anymore. So Kat thinks she's a boy, and is going to say 'he'," he said with a shrug. "I hope she's a girl, so I'm going with female pronouns."

Marina laughed and shook her head. "Whatever works, I guess. Let's just hope he or she doesn't come out confused," she said with a wag of her finger.

"Can that really happen?" Kat asked in alarm, placing a hand over her belly as if to shield the child from their very conversation.

"No, dear, I'm just teasing," Marina said with a reassuring pat of her hand over Kat's. "So you're well? You look radiant," she added.

"What is it with you and your son?" Kat mumbled, a bit embarrassed by the compliment. When Marina turned questioning eyes to Kaidan, he shrugged.

"I called her radiant once, she thought I was saying she was radioactive," he explained.

"Only you, Kat," Marina said with a laugh. "Now since you're apparently healthy and so is my grandchild, who would like to explain your sudden trip to HQ?" she asked with a glare at both of them.

They turned to each other and shrugged. Kaidan's mother was always too perceptive by far... And she wasn't going to settle for half-truths. They had debated what to tell her all the way to Vancouver, and finally decided to just come clean. Kaidan cleared his throat and took the lead.

"Mom, why don't we order lunch and we'll explain everything as we eat?" he suggested.

Marina nodded and waved the server over.

**###**

"That went reasonably well," Kat commented when they returned to their hotel hours later.

"If you consider worrying my mother and being questioned as if we were both five again well, sure," Kaidan replied with a grimace.

"Well, at least I know now where you get it," Kat said with a poke of her finger into his chest. "You learned from the best worrier ever."

"She's been through a lot, with the war and my dad..." Kaidan replied. "I hate that she's going to suffer more."

"Hey," Kat tilted her head up and kissed him on the chin. "We're going to be fine. She's going to be fine. She's stronger than you think."

"I know," he replied. "She is strong, and so are you. But it's my job to take care of both of you."

"And it's my job to take care of both of you, too," Kat countered with a glare. "I'm not a weak, fainting woman - pregnant or not," she reminded him.

"Ok, ok," Kaidan relented with a sigh and a smile. "And I guess the best we can do for my mom is finish this mission and get back here safely."

"Exactly," Kat agreed with a satisfied nod. "Now, the best thing you can do for your pregnant wife is rub her aching back," she said as she sank onto the bed.

"I thought you weren't weak or fainting?" Kaidan teased as he eased her jacket off so that he could comply with her request.

"I can still kick your ass, Major," Kat groaned as his hands dug into her sore muscles. "Just not in those dress shoes. I forgot how uncomfortable they are."

"Fair enough," Kaidan replied with a chuckle and set about his work.

**###**

He had nearly worked out the worst of the knots when a knock at their door interrupted them. He left Kat relaxed on the bed and stood to open it. On the other side was James and Kris and he ushered them in and motioned to chairs beside the bed. Kat took a second to make sure she was reasonably presentable before she shifted on the bed and reclined against the pillows. Kaidan seated himself at the foot of the bed, the only spot left in the small room.

"Sorry to bother you two," Kris began with a smile of apology, "But James insisted we touch base with you before dinner."

Kat raised her brow at her assistant in a silent question... When had he become 'James' rather than the choice Spanish insults Kris had previously used? but the other woman deliberately avoided her gaze.

"We heard back from some of the people you asked us to contact," James took up the explanation. "We thought you'd want to know. Joker is of course piloting the Normandy, so we didn't even bother with that one, but you have RSVP's from Traynor, Garrus, and Liara. Kasumi is working on the tech you asked for, and Tali is still on Rannoch – and the relays to the Far Rim are out, so there's no way to get to her in time. Liara has an office on the Citadel, so she'll return with the Normandy. And Garrus is on Palaven, but he's arranging transport to meet us just past the Charon relay. He should arrive about the same time as us and we can continue to Demeter once he's on board."

"Garrus, James, and Kasumi for your ground team; Traynor and Liara for support," Kat summarized with a satisfied nod. When Kris gave a not-so-subtle cough, she amended, "Ok, Garrus, James, Kasumi, and Kris for your ground team, and oh, hell, Liara too, if she wants."

"I get the point," Kaidan said with a pat of her leg to cut off any more embarrassed rambles. "And that will do very nicely," he said to the room at large. "Thank you both for your help."

"Of course," Kris said with a smile.

"We were going to order room service," Kat put in with a slight yawn. She really did tire quickly these days, she thought with a mental glare to her son. "Did you two want to join us?"

"Um, actually, we have plans of our own," James replied with a slight stammer.

"Yeah," Kris concurred, a little too quickly. They both stood and made their quick goodbyes.

Kaidan laughed as the door closed behind them. He let himself fall back on the bed so his head was level with Kat's belly.

"What are you laughing about?" Kat asked him as she reached over to stroke his hair.

"Apparently I'm not the only one with plans for the evening," Kaidan answered as he closed his eyes and enjoyed her touch.

"You think that's why he insisted on delivering the messages now?" Kat said as she moved her hands to his face and traced over his features.

"Mmm," Kaidan hummed in agreement. "Didn't want to get interrupted later," he added as he nipped at her wandering fingers teasingly.

"Hope that works out for him. Now, about _your_ plans, Major..." Kat said as she rolled to her stomach and reclined half over him.

"Let me show you," he replied against her lips before he kissed her.

**###**

Three days later, Kaidan watched with quiet amusement as Kat shuffled from foot to foot in the Normandy's airlock waiting impatiently for the decon process to complete. Despite the gravity of their mission, she couldn't restrain the child-like excitement she felt at returning to her ship for the first time since she'd been grounded three months ago. He remembered an offhand comment Jacob Taylor had once made about the Normandy being Kat's first love. It hadn't bothered him at the time, he felt no need to be jealous of a warship, no matter how advanced, but he knew Jacob was at least partially right. The Normandy ranked very high among her favorite things.

When the airlock doors finally opened and let them onto the ship, Kat took off at a jog without a word or backwards glance. Kaidan just shook his head, shrugged to Kasumi, lifted their bags, and headed to the elevator. He knew where she was headed and he'd take their things to their cabin and catch up with her later.

"Shepard!" Joker exclaimed with pleasure when she nearly skipped into the cockpit moments later. He turned in his chair to face her and added, "And Shepard, Jr.! Hello there," he continued, speaking directly to her belly, "I'm your Uncle Joker. Are you my niece or nephew?"

"We still don't know, Joker," Kat reminded him. "We told you that."

"You make it incredibly tough to buy gifts," Joker grumbled.

"Because if you knew the baby's sex, you'd know whether to buy a blue or pink SR2 hat?" Kat bantered back.

"Well, not now," Joker said with a blush. "Still don't get it but whatever, its your kid."

"And I'm sure he or she will love their Uncle Joker no matter what color the hat is," Kat said with a conciliatory pat. "Just like their mom does. I missed you, Joker."

"Yeah, the old girl isn't the same without you, Shepard," Joker replied. Although he had stood as best man at their wedding, he had informed both Kat and Kaidan at the reception following that he wasn't calling her anything but Shepard, maybe Captain. They had shrugged and accepted it without argument. On the Normandy, she really was Shepard, so it seemed appropriate anyway.

"How was your trip to the Citadel?" Kat asked him.

"Went without a hitch, the Widow relay is perfect," Joker answered. "Charon is fairly functional as well. Good thing, too, or the trip to Demeter would take a lot longer." Liara had filled Joker in on the details of their mission once she joined the Normandy at the Citadel.

"I want to do a top to bottom inspection and check in with everyone before we leave orbit," Kat told him. "Also, we're still expecting Samatha Traynor, she wasn't in Vancouver so she's a little behind us. She should be here in about an hour, though."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Joker replied as he swiveled his chair back to the front. "Just let me know when you're ready to depart."

"Thanks, Joker," Kat called over her shoulder as she walked out.

**###**

An hour later, she had completed her inspection and found nothing out of place. Toward the end of her tour, Joker had called for her over the com, requesting permission for Traynor to come aboard. She had given it, and not questioned the call. It was Alliance protocol. She told Joker to leave orbit and head for the relay as soon as Traynor was settled.

Immediately thereafter, she had asked the Normandy VI for Major Alenko's current position. When the male voice replied, she tried not to cringe at the reminder that a part of her crew was still missing. Despite the headway the quarians had made in rebuilding the geth, EDI remained a mystery. When he had gone back to active duty after the war, Joker had requested that the Normandy VI have a male voice, a request that Kat had approved despite the fact that it was a departure from Alliance standards.

The VI's response had sent Kat to Starboard Obs, and she opened the door and found her husband exactly where she expected to find him – standing at the viewport staring out at the stars.

"Imagine meeting you here," Kat said in greeting.

"It seemed appropriate," Kaidan replied as she stepped into his arms. "Lots of memories here," he added as he kissed the top of her head.

"Speaking of memories, we'll reach the Charon relay in about 4 hours," Kat said with a grin. "Wanna head up to the cockpit and make fun of shakedown runs with two Spectres on board this time?"

"Not exactly a shakedown this time, either," Kaidan corrected though he smiled at the memory she evoked. "But it will be just like old times."

"You know what else would be just like old times?" Kat murmured against his neck before she stuck out her tongue and gave him a long slow lick right above his collar.

Kaidan couldn't help shivering at the suggestive contact. "Captain Alenko," he said in mock surprise, "What has gotten in to you?"

"You, I hope," Kat replied with a grin before she moved her mouth to his and kissed him.

_Kaidan opened his mouth under hers and returned the kiss with passion. He decided in that moment that he was very fond of pregnancy hormones. They had always had a very active relationship, but since the morning sickness had faded, Kat was utterly insatiable. He didn't mind... He thought the changes to her body were the sexiest thing he'd ever seen and he was happy to show her at every opportunity. He wrapped his arms around her and chased the tongue darting in his mouth with his._

_Her hands moved between them while they kissed and within seconds she was spreading his shirt open and pushing it off his shoulders. Her hands swept over his bare chest, tracing light fingertips over his pecs and flicking teasingly over his nipples on their way down to his belt. She had that open and was working on his pants instants later. She broke the kiss and sent her mouth traveling in the same direction. While her tongue flicked hot licks and kisses over his bare chest, her clever hands freed him from his pants and wrapped around him in a tight fist. She sucked one of his nipples in her mouth while she began to stroke him in her hand with long slow strokes. Kaidan did the only thing a sane man could... he placed both hands behind him and braced himself against them. Apparently his wife planned to take charge, and he could only hold on for the ride._

_Kat moved to his other nipple while her hand continued to work him, flicking over the tip of him with her thumb at the end of every stroke now. She didn't linger, she left his nipple and slid to her knees in front of him, tracing over his abs with her tongue along the way. Once she was in position, she moved her fist to the base of his erect flesh and lowered her mouth over him. She didn't tease, just sucked him in to the warm wet cavern of her mouth until her lips met her own hand. She kept the pressure of her fist at the base of his shaft while she pulled her mouth back off him in a long slow motion. When she reached the very tip, she swirled her tongue around him and began the process of sucking him back in slowly. He threw his head back and moaned his enjoyment of the act._

_Kat gave him several more long sucking strokes until his eyes nearly crossed with pleasure, then she began to change the rhythm. She alternated long sucking strokes with short ones during which she used her tongue to enhance the incredible feel of her mouth around him. She released the tight fist she'd used on the base and made just a ring with two fingers around him. It allowed her to take him even deeper in her mouth, until he was nearly at the back of her throat on every long stroke. She hummed her own pleasure when she had him that deep and sent him soaring. She was very quickly bringing him to a crisis and he wasn't sure if he wanted to resist or just surrender. She seemed to know it as well, quickening her strokes and flicking her tongue to take the decision away from him._

_In the space between one heartbeat and the next, he felt the orgasm crash over him and he went completely tense, glad now for the hands behind him because his legs were not gonna support him on their own. He spilled into her mouth while she drank him down greedily, humming her enjoyment which only sent new shocks of pleasure through every nerve in his body. He gave himself over to the incredible sensations rocking through his body, and she kept him in her mouth, extending and enhancing the feeling of it until he could finally breathe and think again. He reached down with both arms and looped them under hers and pulled her gently to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and cradled her against his chest in silent thanks before he began to shuffle her backwards to the couch closest to them._

_He pushed her down gently and went to his knees between her parted legs. Standing was fine for him, but he wasn't about to subject his pregnant wife to that torture, pleasurable or not. He stretched up on his knees and met her mouth in a kiss while he began the process of undressing her. As she had before him, he didn't linger on her clothes. They'd have time for long, slow seductions later – neither of them was in the mood for a tease now. Once he removed her shirt, he reached behind her and unclasped her bra and drew it off. Her bare breasts did deserve worship, especially since they were larger now because of her pregnancy, so he moved his mouth over each slowly and called it worship rather than teasing._

_He closed a mouth over a nipple and sucked the hard peak in his mouth while she clenched her hands in his hair and gasped her enjoyment of it. He moved his hands to her pants and began the process of removing them blindly while he alternated nipples with his hungry mouth. Once he had her pants unfastened, he grabbed them and her underwear and tugged them down and off her legs. She lifted her hips to assist his efforts. He placed both hands behind her thighs and tugged gently so that she was half reclined against the couch and perched on the very edge. He slid his mouth down her body and settled it just above his goal while he raised her legs over his shoulders and gave a quick visual check to ensure her comfort. Chivalry satisfied, he lowered his mouth and parted her folds with a long slow lick of his tongue from bottom to top. When he reached her passion swollen nub, he traced his tongue around it in ever tightening circles until he flicked the very tip of his tongue across it in a quick motion that made her gasp._

_He sucked her into the gentle embrace of his lips while he trailed his hands slowly up her body and settled one of each of her sensitive swollen nipples. He rolled them between thumb and forefinger while he flicked his tongue against her flesh in his mouth. He felt her jerk her hips up and took the cue, increasing the pressure of his lips and tongue while he continued to play at her breasts. Her breathing quickened, and she moaned, and he knew she was getting close, so he began to suck at her gently, giving her just another level of stimulation._

_When she tensed under him a moment later, and moaned his name as her entire body stiffened in her orgasm, he rolled his eyes up to watch her climax. She was always beautiful to him, but in these moments when she completely surrendered to the pleasure he had given her, that beauty had a primal edge that stole his breath. He'd never tire of seeing her like this. He kept the motions of his hands, mouth, and tongue soft and gentle, enhancing her pleasure as she had for him before this. When she finally took a deep shuddering breath and opened her eyes, he saw the love and passion in her drugged gaze. He let her legs fall gently beside him and kissed his way back up her body. Their mouths met in a kiss of love, thanks, and fulfillment._

_When they broke the kiss to breathe, she trailed hands down his body and took his half-erect flesh back in her fist. She stroked him while he trailed kisses across her jaw, to her ear, and down her throat. She had him ready again fairly quickly, although it didn't surprise him anymore. His body tended to agree with the rest of him when it came to Kat. He was always eager to please her in any way. He was more than willing to take their play to the inevitable next stage but he stilled her hand on him while he tried to think. What she was doing made thought nearly impossible, and her changing shape and the lack of real accommodations in this room required a little concentration._

_He finally stood and seated himself beside her and drew her onto his lap. Although her baby belly would make this position cramped and potentially uncomfortable lying on the small couch, sitting worked just fine. She seemed to agree completely, since she parted her legs around him and raised herself on her knees. She reached for his erection again and positioned it so that she could sink down on him. They both gasped as her searing heat engulfed him completely. He brought his hands to her waist to steady her and help her move while she began the slow ride to their renewed pleasure. He watched her face as she moved on him for long moments before she lowered her head and took his mouth in a kiss._

_They rocked together, neither of them hurried now, just enjoying the intimacy of this most perfect union, while their tongues danced and played together as well. Eventually, the pressure began to climb again and the long controlled strokes became increasingly jerky as they both reached for the climax that was just out of reach. She braced herself with her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself down hard against him while he jerked his hips up beneath her to meet her. They fell into their orgasm at nearly the same time, though neither could say who was actually first. They continued to rock together as the pleasure washed over them, riding the waves in blissful harmony, until she finally collapsed against him with a long moan. He wrapped his arms around her and let their hearts race together until they finally calmed and slowed into a normal beat._

"For the record, I don't remember exactly that," Kaidan couldn't resist teasing her when he could breathe enough to speak.

She lifted her head and glared at him. "Was that a complaint?" she growled.

"Not in the least," he said with a chuckle. "Just a statement of fact."

"Fair enough," she said with a smile. "Old times, new times, as long as we're there together, they're all good."

"Now that is another statement of fact," he said and kissed her.


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N - Once again, all credit to Bioware for the characters and universe portrayed within!_

* * *

><p>Joker glanced over his shoulder when they entered the cockpit just before they hit the Charon relay.<p>

"Two Spectres to babysit my relay approach?" he commented with an arched brow. "Guess I haven't come up in the world."

"We're just being nostalgic, Joker, don't take it personally," Kaidan said as he braced himself behind Joker's chair. Nostalgia was one thing, but he would not take his old seat in the copilot's chair. That would remain empty, in honor of another memory.

"Nostalgic, right," Joker shot back with sarcasm. "I would have thought you got that out of your system in Starboard Obs."

Kaidan felt the blush spread over his cheeks but Kat was unruffled. "Some things are so good they bear constant repetition," she told Joker casually.

"Ok, ew, I think you win, Shepard," Joker exclaimed with a shudder. "Just keep the TMI to yourself from now on," he pleaded.

"You started it," Shepard replied, then ruined it by sticking her tongue out at him.

Everyone shared a companionable laugh before they turned their attention to the relay looming just out the starboard viewport. The pale and familiar blue glow of the relay's mass effect core showed no signs of damage. Only the physical structure around the relay showed any scars from the Crucible's devastation.

"We received word from the turian cruiser Intrepid. They'll be waiting on the other side of the relay to dock with us," Joker reported as his hands worked over the helm control panel to begin their approach.

"Take us in, Joker," Kat replied with a nod.

All three humans held their breath and kept their eyes fixed on the viewport as the Normandy negotiated the process of being sucked into the ball of blue fire and spit back out into another part of the galaxy. It was a short trip and uneventful, but they all knew that although it had once been a journey so commonplace most starship captains didn't even stop what they were doing to watch it, since the day of the Crucible, it was a risky maneuver. Under Joker's talented hands, the Normandy performed the transition with barely a shake of the floor beneath their feet. Only the audible release of breath in the cockpit marked it as anything special.

"There's the Intrepid," Joker said, pointing to a large vessel looming just out the viewport now.

"Open a channel to them," Kat ordered tersely.

"Done," Joker replied after the press of a button.

"This is Captain Alenko of the SSV Normandy hailing turian cruiser Intrepid," Kat called in a voice that was all business.

"Acknowledged, Normandy," the flanged voice over the com replied. "We are in position and prepared for docking procedures."

Kat turned the technical process of syncing up the two ships over to Joker, and only listened with half her attention as they began to move together in a dance that was vaguely similar to sex. It was a fanciful thought that she blamed on her time in Starboard Obs with Kaidan and she met his eyes and saw the memory reflected there as well. When the procedure was complete, she finally heard the words she had been anticipating.

"General Garrus Vakarian requesting permission to board," the turian at the Intrepid's com reported.

"Granted," Kat called back tersely. She was already moving to the airlock door.

Once again, she stood with barely restrained excitement while she waited for decon to complete. When the doors swooshed open, she jumped into the familiar arms of her best friend in the galaxy with an exclamation of glee that was neither professional or appropriate. Neither person in the embrace cared. Garrus tightened his arms around her, careful because her body wasn't reinforced with metal as his was. They stood there for several minutes, indulging in a reunion that had been over a year in coming. Her only contact with Garrus since the wedding had been by QEC call or the even more frustrating interstellar message system. When she finally stepped back out of the hug, Garrus greeted her cheerily.

"Shepard, you look-" he began before she rushed to cut him off.

"If you say radiant, I'm going to add another scar to that pretty face," she growled in mock irritation.

"I was going to say larger," Garrus replied carefully, "But now I'm reconsidering that, too."

"Probably a wise choice," Kaidan commented from behind them. "Good to see you, General Vakarian," he added as he offered his hand for a shake.

"Kaidan," Garrus returned the greeting and shake with evident pleasure. "Guess this will be-"

"Just like old times," Kat stepped in to say the rest with him.

"There's a lot of that going around today," Kaidan said with a grin.

"On that note, I assume you'll want to set up in the forward battery?" Kat said as she led the small group out into the CIC and headed to the elevator.

"I'm sure something needs calibrating," Garrus muttered as he followed her.

"You don't have time to calibrate," Kat said as she called the elevator. "We'll meet in the briefing room in an hour to plan our rescue."

"I'll see you there," Garrus replied before the elevator doors closed behind and swept him off to his destination.

Kaidan slung an arm over his wife casually, right in the middle of the CIC. She turned to him with a happy smile.

"I know I shouldn't be this happy," she told him with a bit of guilt.

"It's ok to feel happy at seeing your old friend and being back in action," he told her as he met her eyes. "And I feel good about our chances."

"Yeah?" she said with an arched brow, remembering another conversation when he had said the same words.

"I wasn't wrong before," he reminded her with a steady look.

"True enough," she replied and laid her head against his shoulder. She could only hope that his prediction held this time, too.

**###**

"The coordinates in the message sent to Oriana Lawson indicate that Miranda is being held in a high security facility here," Kat opened the briefing by pointing at the holographic display that hovered over the center of the briefing room table.

She surveyed the earnest and serious faces that watched her conduct the briefing and another wave of nostalgia swept over her. Then her eyes fell on the new face, who was so crucial to the success of this mission, and she felt the contrast sharply. She may be leading the briefing, but for the first time in her career, she'd be watching from the sidelines while others carried out her orders. She'd have no way to control the situation and the outcome would be out of her hands once she laid out their careful plans. For the first time, she regretted her pregnancy for just a second before guilt shamed her. She met Kaidan's eyes, nearly cringing as if he had heard her thought, but saw the support and love in his and allowed it to comfort her. She took a deep breath and continued.

"It's a three-level industrial facility that has been abandoned since the war. Since it once manufactured explosive ordinance for the Alliance, you can expect that it still contains hazardous materials that make this mission all the more dangerous," she warned. "The ground team will have to pick their targets carefully and watch for potential external hazards."

She waited until she saw their nods of comprehension before she moved on. She highlighted a section of the facility they were studying, deep inside the third level. The structure was underground, with the first level at the surface and then continuing down from there.

"It seems likely that Miranda would be held in this section, this is the deepest and most easily defended part of the facility," she told them, using a wave of her hand to indicate the highlighted structure. "From what we know of Cerberus, we can expect heavy resistance on each level, though, especially since they're expecting an armed infiltration. Outside the target location, they would employ heavy mechs and engineers with turrets to fortify their position. It's not going to be easy to break through."

"You need every gun you can get, then," Garrus commented with a nod.

"Exactly," Kaidan stepped in to confirm. "Which is why we're deviating from the norm. I'll lead the ground team, and Garrus, James, Kasumi, and Kris will be my squad."

"I'm going, too," Liara said firmly. "I can still handle myself in a fight."

"I was hoping you'd offer," Kaidan replied with a grateful nod.

"So the six of you will work together to reach the central area and free Miranda," Kat summarized and took charge of the briefing again. "Assuming she's still alive and well, she'll be able to assist you in your escape after Cerberus springs whatever trap they have in place."

"It's as good a plan as we can have given the lack of details," Garrus commented. "But they want you, Shepard. And they may kill Miranda if they realize you're not on the ground team. How are you getting around that?"

"Excellent question, Garrus," Kat said with a smile of approval. "We're not. They want Commander Shepard... we're giving them Commander Shepard, thanks to a little thing we humans call smoke and mirrors."

"Smoke and mirrors?" Garrus echoed in confusion.

Kat gestured to Kris, who came to stand beside her. Kat pressed a button on the center console and another image transposed itself over Kris. Suddenly there were twin images of Kat standing side by side.

"Smoke and mirrors," the real Kat announced with a wave of her hand. "Kris will wear my N7 armor... at least a modified version of it to make it seem she's pregnant – we can't take a chance that Cerberus wouldn't know about my condition. She's the same height as I am, mostly, and with the modified armor, she'll be the same build. We don't even need the holo trickery, really, unless someone gets close enough to see her face through the visor."

"And they wouldn't survive long enough to notice," Kris put in grimly.

"But we'll use it in case there is video surveillance in place," Kaidan reminded them. It was the part of the plan he had insisted on – the illusion needed to be as real as possible.

"Which we can be fairly certain there will be," Kasumi confirmed his suspicions with a nod.

"But Cerberus would also use bioscans," Liara piped in to add.

"And the Alliance has taken care of that for us," Kat reported. "They switched our DNA records before we left Earth. As far as any bioscan would show, Kris is me."

"And she's a freaking sitting duck," James growled his constant objection to the plan.

"This duck has teeth, _carino_," Kris soothed gently. James just waved his hand as if swatting away her objection and fell silent again.

"James is right," Kat said grimly. "They want me, we're giving them 'me', so once you get to the target area..."

"We'll protect her as if she were you." It was Kaidan's turn to soothe now.

Kat nodded and turned back to the room. "Any questions, concerns, objections?" she asked in her traditional briefing close. When James would have spoken, she raised a hand and added, "Noted, Lieutenant," before she closed the briefing by telling them, "Joker will drop us into orbit and stealth systems have been engaged since we left the Intrepid. We won't have much benefit of surprise but there's that anyway. Everyone gear up, Cortez is waiting to shuttle you down to the surface."

She watched as everyone filed out of the room except for Kaidan. She turned to him and met his eyes for a long moment of silent communication which she broke first.

"You better bring them all back," she growled around the lump in her throat. "And that goes double for you, Major."

"Aye, aye, ma'am," he replied softly before he, too, turned to go.

Kat stood in the now empty room and felt something she never had before any other mission – fear. She didn't like it. Not at all. She tried to shake her unwelcome companion with a physical shake of her head as she left the room and headed to the cockpit, where she'd pass her time while they were on the ground, monitoring the coms for any information that could reassure her.

**###**

It really was startling... and surreal... Kaidan thought to himself as he studied his not-wife seated across from him in the shuttle for their short journey to the planet's surface. He could, of course, easily tell the difference – even in the armor and wearing extra padding over her abdomen to make her appear pregnant, and the holo disguising her face – Kris wasn't Kat. But the similarities were enough to fool the casual observer, and they hoped, Cerberus. It needed to be as real as possible to pull this off, and failure just wasn't an option.

The shuttle came to soft landing a short distance from the facility entrance and Kaidan opened the doors and prepared to step out before Liara's voice stopped him mid-motion.

"Wait," she called as she watched him prepare to take point. When he turned to her with a questioning look, she continued, "If Shepard were really here, wouldn't she be in command, pregnant or not?"

"Good call, Liara," Kaidan said with a relieved sigh as she pointed out the mistake. He motioned to Kris, who nodded and moved up, preparing to take point. With one simple oversight, they nearly ruined the entire ruse. He gave silent thanks that Liara was here. They had to assume they'd be observed at every step, and couldn't afford stupid mistakes.

"Once we enter the facility, we need radio silence," Kaidan continued as they took formation and crept slowly toward the entrance with Kris in her Shepard disguise in the lead.

"Guess we'll get to see how good your acting is," Kasumi put in cheerfully. "Since it looks like you're leading us."

"I trust her," Kaidan said quietly. "And so can all of you."

Everyone nodded and they fell silent again as they approached the entrance. The red light over the heavy steel doors warned that the facility was sealed with electronic locks. Kris stood aside while Kasumi and Kaidan stepped up to survey the situation. It was a fairly simple hack, and Kaidan knew either of them could accomplish it easily, but he deferred to the thief with a wave of his hand as he checked his rifle once again. The bottom line was, they could both do it, but Kasumi could do it faster.

She proved him right when she had the red light over the door switched to green in a matter of seconds. She employed her cloak and faded from view as the team moved back into formation behind Kris. She lifted her fist with three fingers raised in a silent countdown. When she reached zero, she threw the door open with a metallic bang and the team rolled to cover behind her. Shots rang out over them and the battle was on.

Kaidan surveyed the area quickly from behind cover and counted the red dots his HUD displayed. Twelve to six may seem like long odds, but the six were experienced combat veterans working as a cohesive unit. Kaidan motioned with his fist behind the crate he was using for cover and split the squad into two smaller units. He sent the team led by Kris to the east to begin moving forward to flank the large group of enemies that waited for them on the far side of the room. He led his group, which included Garrus and Liara, to the west with the same intent.

They needed to complete their battles efficiently and leave no enemies behind to report the one obvious distinction between the 'Commander Shepard' leading this infiltration and the real one – Kris was an incredibly skilled soldier, but she wasn't a biotic. They hoped that if the lack of biotics was noted, Cerberus would assume that it was the uncertainty of the use of biotic skills on an unborn fetus that motivated it, but Kaidan didn't want to take any chances. They advanced slowly, picking off targets as they went.

When they reached the other side of the large entry room, which appeared to have served as a storage and holding room for the plant's finished product before it was moved off-world, only one red dot remained on Kaidan's HUD. He ducked around cover and tried to locate the last threat visually. His eyes landed on the target a few seconds later and he saw the glow of tech armor surrounding the man. Another sentinel.

He gestured to the human leader with his head and Garrus easily caught his message. He prepared a concussive shot with his rifle and nodded when he was ready. Kaidan ducked around cover and threw an overload at the sentinel while Garrus' rifle rang out at nearly the same time. Kaidan watched in satisfaction as the sentinel's armor wavered and Garrus' concussive shot, modded with armor-piercing rounds struck. Before they could ready another attack, the sentinel groaned and fell to the floor dead. Kasumi uncloaked behind him and dusted her hands with satisfaction. Her shadow strike had finished off the enemy.

The squad regrouped just before the doors and Kaidan stooped to study the dead littering the floor. Their armor bore no markings, and in fact, it bore barely any commonality. The first three corpses he studied were human, but he had heard the roar of a krogan during the fight and Garrus was stooped over a turian corpse several meters away. The human faces he studied showed no signs of modification by Reaper tech, as the one on Mars had, but he could explain that by the firing of the Crucible. But the rest... for all intents and purposes, this disparate group of enemies had appeared to be more like a cobbled together band of mercs rather than a Cerberus cell. It didn't add up.

Kaidan stood and joined Kris where she waited patiently at the control panel for the elevator that would lead further into the facility. He saw her questioning look when he approached but he simply shrugged in response. He had no answers to the questions in her eyes. Not yet. Kris accepted his dismissal and turned to play her role, motioning Kasumi forward to hack the control panel. They moved into the elevator and to the next level.

**###**

"They're ok," Joker finally offered reassurance to his companion when the drumming of her fingernails against the arm of the jumpseat threatened to drive him insane. She startled and turned to him as if she had just noticed his presence. "No news is good news," he added quietly.

"How do you do this?" Kat asked him around gritted teeth. "Sit up here while we're down there?" she added in clarification.

"I run systems checks, then I double check them, and when that's done I even think about what I'm going to have for lunch," Joker replied seriously, "And when none of that works, I count stars."

"Count stars?" Kat echoed in surprise.

"Yeah...," Joker confirmed with a wave out the viewport. "There's too many to ever finish, and it's so peaceful out there. It helps. Keeps my mind off... things."

Kat stared out the viewport and let her gaze settle on the dots of light blinking in the sky around them. The vast galaxy spread out beyond the glow of the planet they were orbiting, and she let some of the peace settle into her and calm her. She silently began to count.


End file.
